Kayleigh Sky's Blog

Do you think writers need loads of confidence or a big ego to make it in this business?   In my humble opinion a writer needs confidence and perseverance.  It takes confidence in your ability to put your thoughts on paper and believe others will want to read them.  Moreover it takes perseverance to continue your work as it hits the bumps in the road from creation to publication.  

In contrast, ego can be a hindering influence.  The tunnel vision of ego can prevent you from accepting constructive criticism and working in harmony with editors, proofreaders, formatters and cover artists.  The result of an ego fueled pride is a humbling fall and can lead to severe discouragement.

The last few years have seen a significant influx of books on the market. Competition is huge. Do you take the market into account when you write your stories, or is it all from your heart?

I don’t consider the market because the characters in my head are led by a very strong-willed plot bunt.  Seriously, I right what’s in my heart.  When I began writing the market was strong in romance books that were borderline erotica.  I like romance and believe it’s not necessary to have sex every three pages.  The thing is, there is a reader for every writing style so, it makes it comfortable for me to be who I am as an author.

Not all of us are tuned into our emotions to the same degree. Do you think its possible for a writer who might be on the cooler side to write books that will touch a reader’s heart?  

I do.  There is an old saying in creative writing; write what you know.  If by cooler you mean less erotic or less dramatic I would say its very possible.  One of my favorite authors wrote a series that was high on drama, absent of sexual activity of any kind and I couldn’t put it down.

When did you learn that stories have power, and how did that affect you? 

As an adolescent I was in advanced classes.  During middle school my teacher had us read Another Country by James Baldwin.  I became hooked on stories that spoke of protest and resistance while simultaneously showed how life could continue.  I had just begun writing my stories and was already an avid reader.  As I got older and became a participant in the political activity of the times I found the writings of the rebels and leaders of our times inspiring.

Fiction is just as powerful consider how many people you know swear to be Ravenclaws?  Let us not forget the die hard activities of the Twilight fans.

If you’ve ever read Fahrenheit 451, you know the scene at the end of the story where everybody is memorizing a book to save for the future. What book would you memorize to save for posterity, and why that one?

You may find this peculiar but I would memorize the bible.  I realize a great many people in the LGBTQ+ community have been hurt and permanently scarred by so called Christians.  There are many of us who understand that the bible was not written to be a weapon to beat others about the head and shoulders with distorted interpretations.  It’s a powerful tome that teaches us love is love, love is powerful and the best way to overpower evil.

What is your favorite book that you think just hasn’t gotten enough love in the world?

One of my early mentors in this genre is the author AJ Rose. She wrote a book called The Long Fall of Night.  Most apocalyptic stories start after the apocalypse has occurred.  This book starts before the event, takes you through it and brings you out on the other side of it by utilizing the journey of the main characters and an army team nicknamed Shockwave.  It’s an amazing story, dramatic, romantic and action packed all at the same time. 

Are you a masochist? Ha, ha. Or, in other words, do you read reviews of your book? What is the best and worst thing you’ve learned about authors and reviews?

The worst thing I learned about reviews is that not every reviewer honestly reads your book and understands your point.  I write fiction based on true persons, places and events.  I had a reviewer call me a liar! People had to tie me down.  As a result I try not to make a habit of reading reviews.  The best thing I learned is nothing feels better than when an author you admire and aspire to be like raves about your book.

What are your toughest scenes to write and is there a particular scene that was the hardest of all?

Scenes that hit close to home or heart are the toughest to write.  In my book Collateral Damage, my main character Jordan had PTSD on top of his other troubles.  Writing those scenes took a lot of time and wine.

What is your best advice to a newbie writer?

Don’t give up.  This is not easy but it is rewarding.  Find mentors and when you do make sure they are people you are willing to listen to.  They will help you avoid the pitfalls of this business.  Obey your betas.  They are readers and good ones will tell you when something sucks.  Don’t get mad. Fix it.

What is the biggest criticism as a writer you’ve ever received?

A reviewer called me a liar.  Ironically that part of my book was actually truthful and had happened. It took me a long time to move past it.  As you can see I still am not over it.  I believe honest criticism is healthy and helps you improve as a writer. Personal attacks are another matter altogether.

What is the biggest surprise that has happened to you after becoming a writer/author?

People bought my books and had great things to say about them and me.

What is the greatest joy your writing has brought you?

I have made some of the most awesome friends and acquaintances.  These are people who have been an amazing blessing in my life and taken me through a lot of trials.

Who are your writing companions? Dogs or cats?

My writing companions are two precocious cats named Freddie and Marshall.  They keep me on my toes and make sure I know when its dinnertime.

Is there a topic or theme you don’t think you could do justice to in your writing? If so, what is it and why not?

Science fiction.  I don’t seem to have science fiction characters in my head even though I am a huge fan of a lot of science fiction.

BIO: 

Miski Harris was born &raised in NY with her younger siblings. She’s a nurse, and a veteran who raised five sons while traveling the world. When she sets her mind to achieve something, she’s unstoppable. Her two lifelong constants have been her faith and love of books. Reading is her mainstay, and she is rarely seen without her Nook which holds over 2,000 books. She loves to give the characters who reside in her imagination life and has begun to fulfill a desire to write books of her own. She published her first M/M romance novel after a close friend challenged her to join the National Novel Writing Month initiative. The result was the first draft of her book. Several edits later, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Book1 made its debut on Amazon bookshelves. It has since been joined by Book 2: Collateral Damage and there’s more to come. When asked to describe her in one word and friends say fierce. A past commander defined her as a “tender warrior”. Friends, patients, and strangers can always find a strong advocate in this woman who’s not afraid to forge ahead or speak her mind. Miski believes challenge defines worlds to conquer and lines to cross; love & faith are the most powerful forces in the universe, and the only thing hindering success is to fail to try. She invites you to join her in a world where love is second to nothing and life is the greatest adventure of all. Miski live in Prince Georges County, Maryland with her two precocious cats: Freddie and Marshall.

Writing Love, Life & Faith Without Limits

 

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Leopards Lair by Miski Harris (included in the anthology)

What happens when two of the rarest of creatures to be found in the wild come together and their lives become clenched in a battle?

 

M’haven Chavis doesn’t believe in the existence of shifters.  He laughed when his fathers told him as it became time for his first shift.  In the forests of Washington State’s Tiger Mountain, M’haven ‘s no longer laughing, when life as he knew it is forever changed.  

 

Jovan knows he’s a Leopard. When he meets M’haven everything in him says “Mate”.  What shocks him is his senses tell him M’haven is a different species, a tiger.  Their situation escalates when he learns M’haven’s life is at stake.

 

Will love be enough to save M’haven? Or will death be all they find together in the leopard’s lair.

 

Preorder here.

The post Wow ‘Em Wednesday with Miski Harris appeared first on Kayleigh Sky.

Welcome to Wow ‘Em Wednesdays with a new interview from Drea Roman. Enjoy!

Who are your writing companions? 

Dogs or cats?  CATS!  I am most certainly a life-long cat lover. Currently, I have two.  Tibert is a massive black Norwegian Forest cat who is polydactyl. That means he has extra toes.  His are the kind that make him look like he has mittens on his feet.  He has apposable thumbs!  The other is Cabbage, an average sized brown and gray tabby with a white bib, white milk toes, and amber/whiskey colored eyes. Tibert was named after a French medieval cat character in children’s literature: Tibert le chat, who appears in the tales of Renard the Fox.  I was originally going to name him Tybalt after the character in Romeo and Juliet, but my fiancé looked up the name and we liked the older variant best.  Cabbage is so named because we thought it was funny to have a cat named after a vegetable. Tibert is very friendly and Cabbage only room has in her little kitty heart for Ivan and me.  She runs from everyone else, including my sister, who visits often.  

What is the greatest joy your writing has brought you?  

I get to fall into the story and create.  There are two activities in life that make me feel like I am my authentic self: writing and ballroom dancing.  I have been out of the dance community for a few years, but hope to start again soon.  When I finally gave myself permission to write a full book, I found that my joy in the process and the finished work is nearly unparalleled in my life.  The only comparison is how I feel about dancing. I love when readers like the characters and the story.  I love sharing the stories and love when readers connect with them and their journeys. 

 

 

Do you need to know your characters’ names before you start writing? Do character names come to you magically, from people you know, from baby name books or sites, or some other method?  

They usually come to me with names.  Occasionally a guy will show up without one, but the name doesn’t change once he has one.  I seem to have an affinity for names starting with “D” (Daniel, David, Devon) and “T” (Tyler, Trevor).  The guys in my first book have non-traditional names, Black and Aubrey.  I have no idea where Aubrey’s name came from, but it suits him.  Black is the other character’s last name.  One of the characters that took the longest to name was an omega in a Vale Valley book coming out next January.  He survived a long time with no name at all, until I decided on an ethnic background and started looking up names related to it.  He is Valis, but goes by Val.  In The Selkie’s Coat, Gregory’s very pushy mother is named after the character of Vivian Alamain from Days of Our Lives.  She looks exactly like that actress (Louise Sorrell) in my head. I only use baby name books and search engines when looking for a side character name because it means less to me at the time.  I used searches for Dutch names when naming Sven (a barely there character in His Christmas Magic) and he ended up in the next book in that series. 

If you’ve ever read Fahrenheit 451, you know the scene at the end of the story where everybody is memorizing a book to save for the future. What book would you memorize to save for posterity, and why that one?  

I have this book of children’s poetry.  It was the first book in an encyclopedia collection from Random House called the “How and Why Library.”  My mother read those poems to me and sparked my love of poetry and the written word.  We need poetry in the world.  The book contains the usual children’s poems like “Three Blind Mice.”  But it also contains works from Carl Sandberg, Robert Frost, and many other important poets who wrote in English.  I would memorize those poems so I could pass on those words of wisdom and the forms of poetry to the next generation.  I still have this volume and it means so much to me. Oh, by the way, I love Bradbury and have taught The Martian Chronicles to high school and college students.  

If you write erotic/explicit scenes, what is the most difficult part of that process?

Making sure it feels good and sexy. I want my readers to enjoy it and if I don’t find it sexy, then I need to fix something.  Sex is never just about the act in my stories.  It always means something to the characters.  I write contemporary and fated mate stories.  I never want the fated mate sex to just be about “oh this is my mate, must fall on his dick now.”  That always annoys me as a reader.  I don’t like overly addled heat sex for when characters become physically intimate for the first time.  That undermines the emotional connection for me. 

Gregory, my selkie in The Selkie’s Coat, has to really work to convince his mate to trust him, so by the time they have sex, it both sexy and emotional.  Even in a short that was supposed to be about glory holes (“Omega in the Hole”), I could not get away from the sex having more meaning than just a random fuck.  I enjoy reading sex scenes and I enjoy writing them.  I never put them off and have been known to write a sex scene chapters before I need it.  I wouldn’t say my stories are sex-centric, but they usually have more than one such scene.  Sex is a part of human life, love, and emotional expression.  I want to bring that happiness and joy to the sex I write.  If I don’t, then I wouldn’t like it as a reader. 

 Want Santa’s Right-Hand Delivery Man? You can get it here. 

What is an elf to do to stop himself from falling for Santa Claus? This twinky elf would really like to know. 

Sven adores his new job as Santa’s assistant and elf-in-charge-of-present-delivery. The only down sides are how hot his new boss is and how much Sven wants to climb him like a Christmas tree. 

Nick lost his delivery elf when his best friend Tuck mated a mangy wolf shifter and ran off to Vale Valley. His choice of replacement, Tuck’s much younger and tinier cousin Sven, has turned out to be a fabulous one. The only trouble is how much the diminutive elf makes Nick want to behave very badly.  

He may be an ancient manifestation of love created to help humans through the coldest time of year. But this holiday season, Santa is having more than a little bit of trouble keeping his hands to himself.  

After a trip to Vale Valley, Sven’s body signals a change, letting him know he’s found his fated mate. But with no one new in sight, the tiny elf frantically searches for an answer. The only person who matters to him is his boss. Nick can’t be Sven’s mate, can he?

Santa’s Right Hand Delivery Man is book two of Season Five of the popular multi-author series, Vale Valley, a small town open to everyone who needs a home and love. It follows the misadventures of Nick (don’t call him Santa) and his new delivery elf Sven as they stumble into attraction, love, and Christmas babies. 

The post Wow ‘Em Wednesdays appeared first on Kayleigh Sky.

Do you think writers need loads of confidence or a big ego to make it in this business? 

I don’t think this is necessary. I think Passion and love is the only thing an author needs. 

The last few years have seen a significant influx of books on the market. Competition is huge. Do you take the market into account when you write your stories, or is it all from your heart?

I write what I want. There’s no reason to be an author otherwise. 

Not all of us are tuned into our emotions to the same degree. Do you think its possible for a writer who might be on the cooler side to write books that will touch a reader’s heart?

An author has to be able to connect emotionally with what they write. If not the reader will be able to tell. Our books are us and anything other than an emotional connection would be unauthentic. 

I think, as writers, we can agree that the written word is a powerful thing. Stories can change the world. Is there an author that you think has actually harmed people with their writing?

Yes, misrepresentation of a group of people is damaging to the people being represented and to the people absorbing the information, fiction or not. 

Do your books have a moral/message, or are they focused on entertainment only?

My stories always have some underlying message. 

HOPELESS SCARS Blurb:

Hopeless Scars (Scars #2)

He is a man…

This is a sin…

He is the devil…

Lucifer has finally formed a relationship with his long lost son, but there is one problem. He is going to have to leave. Even if all he wants to do is stay. His fate was sealed millennia ago. Happiness isn’t in the cards for him and he has accepted that, but then why is he staying?

Dr. Adam Colton does everything in his power to save lives and he usually succeeds. All he wants is to be a good doctor and a good Christian man, but when Mr. Miller is rolled in on a gurney, he’s forced to face his sinful desires. He isn’t so sure he can fight what he craves so deeply.

When a child is brought in with a mysterious illness, it sets off a series of events that brings The Center for Disease Control and Prevention to town. It’s a race to save the child’s life.The attraction between Adam and Lucifer is only intensifying as both are being dragged through the mud. All seems Hopeless. 

Can they find the strength to fight for what they want or are the Scars too deep?

Note: this book may contain situations that are difficult for some readers.

BUY LINK:
books2read.com/HopelessScars 

SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://linktr.ee/alecwilliamscreativeworks

BIO:

My name is Alec Lee Williams, a trans #ownvoices artist. My pronouns are He/him/his.  I have loved creating things ever since I can remember. My art is the visual and written expression of what is in my heart and mind. Show the world what social expectation and stigma it has created in regards to mental health. Mental illness and discrimination are a part of our history and it’s time the world sees it.  The beautiful and the dirty.

With my art, I want to show those who don’t have mental illness what it’s like. I want those that do have a mental illness, specifically queer POC, to relate and maybe even letting go of their trauma and triggers by seeing it displayed. I want them to know they are not alone. Now that I have decided to pursue writing my novels I hope will do the same.

The post Wow ‘Em Wednesday with A.L. Williams! appeared first on Kayleigh Sky.

It’s Wow ‘Em Wednesdays! This week we have the awesome Avril Ashton with us. Please read on for her interview, a little about her newest release, and a buy link, because you don’t want to miss out on this!

Enjoy!

When did you learn that stories have power, and how did that affect you?

I was maybe 10 or 11 years old and I wrote something in school. It was a short story for a fair, where we used construction paper for the book cover and stapled the actual story inside. My teacher at the time—Mr. Forrester— took me aside and told me basically that my imagination was wonderful and that I was really good at creating stories. He was actually emotional while complimenting me on my attention to detail. I will never forget the way it made me feel, so proud and happy. I wanted to always feel that way and I wanted to always elicit the reaction I got from Mr. Forrester.

If you write erotic/explicit scenes, what is the most difficult part of that process?

The most difficult part of writing explicit scenes, for me, is the actual writing of it. I like writing it and I love reading it, so no complaints there. But my readers have come to expect a certain thing from me and so I struggle every time in delivering that, but also making it new and fresh and not a repetitive, regurgitated mess. 

Are you a pantser or a plotter?

I have always been a pantser, but lately I’ve been toying with the notion of shifting more to the plotser mindset. The rigidity of plotting stifles my creativity, I discovered that when I first started writing, but even though I’ve managed 10 years writing and publishing as a pantser, I do admit that it has major drawbacks where at times I find myself at a loss as to where the story should go next. Oftentimes when I reach the middle. That then stalls me and it takes a while before I get back into the grove. In shifting to a hybrid plotter/pantser (plotser) method, I’m hoping that I’ll have the freedom to go wherever the characters want to take me while still having a loose outline of what the story is.

Do you write alone or in public?

I write alone. Usually. With the pandemic, my husband is home as is our daughter, and they’re a needy pair so they always interrupt. But I write alone. Writing is an intimate thing for me and it makes me feel exposed in a way that I can’t explain. So doing it anywhere else but in my home is out of the question.

WANT IT blurb:

It takes a tragedy to bring German back to town. A lot has changed since he ducked out in the middle of the night three years ago, leaving behind an ailing grandmother and a confused younger brother. He doesn’t expect forgiveness. He damn sure doesn’t plan to stick around long enough to acknowledge the unresolved feelings that sent him running in the first place.

That’s the lie he tells himself.

Serch is a good boy. The woman who raised him demanded nothing less and he refused to break her heart the way German did. But she’s gone now and German is at his doorstep, apology on his lips, pain and yearning bleeding from his fingertips. Nothing is the same, not even the forbidden connection they’ve always fought. Serch doesn’t know if he can trust his heart to the man who betrayed him with a smile on his face and love in his eyes, but it doesn’t matter.

This time, he’s taking everything that should have been his.

BUY LINK: http://readerlinks.com/l/1273970

AUTHOR BIO:

A Grenadian transplant, Avril now lives in Tucker, GA, with a madly tolerant husband. Together they raise an eccentric daughter who’s pretty meh about reading and school. Avril’s earliest memories of reading revolve around discussing the plot points of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys with an equally book-minded mother.

Always in love with the written word, Avril finally decided to do the writing in August of ’09 and never looked back. She’s been nominated for numerous awards, including Best Author, Best series (Brooklyn Sinners), and Favorite All-Time Author. In 2013 Avril won Evernight Publishing’s Reader’s Choice Award for the LGBT (Male/Male) category. Recently she took home the Golden Ankh award for best Male/Male romance for her bestselling novel, Sinner’s Fall.

Addicted to cake, the ID Channel and the UFC, Avril writes Gay and Erotic Romance with happy endings; she remains a believer of love in all its forms.

Visit her website: http://www.avrilashton.com

Friend Av on Facebook: http://facebook.com/writeravrilashton

She’s on Twitter as @AvrilAsh

Follow her on BookBub: bookbub.com/authors/avril-ashton

Support her Patreon: http://patreon.com/avrilashton

Sign up for her Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/x0l6y1Join Av’s Gang on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AvsGang/

The post Wow ‘Em Wednesday with Avril Ashton appeared first on Kayleigh Sky.

Welcome to Wow ’Em Wednesdays! Interesting conversations with interesting authors.

Today’s interview is with the lovely Layla Dorine. As you’ll see in the interview, Layla clearly puts the heart in story. I have a book link and an excerpt for you after the interview, so don’t miss out on that. Enjoy!

A lot of writers are introverts and get their energy from solitude. Writing is usually a solitary pursuit. Are you the kind of writer who can keep going for hours, or do you get worn out from all the drama on the page? 

I’ve done 24 hour marathon writing sessions, crashed for 12 and got up and started again, though in those days, I was writing with a friend and the fun was in seeing what her responses were going to be. The twists and turns were what kept us both going. 

Still, I tend to write for hours if I can get the uninterrupted solitude and silence to do so. Its gotten easier the older my kids have gotten, the last one is almost seventeen and rarely interrupts these days, which is both a good, and a sad thing. Its hard seeing my last baby almost an adult and knowing he’ll be leaving the nest soon, though I am proud of him too. 

These days I prefer to write at night. Its easier to hear the characters that way. Easy to loose track of time too and write until I am falling asleep on the screen. I prefer the solitude of late nights and early mornings, especially when writing in hotel rooms where I know that no one is going to come knocking on a door looking for me. 

Do you think writers need loads of confidence or a big ego to make it in this business? 

No, I think they need to have the passion and desire to tell a story and the grit and gumption to keep at it even when people try to cut them down. Ego gets in the way of learning and no one ever starts out knowing how to write, it’s a skill, like any other art, one that has to be honed and sharpened and even unraveled from time to time. 

When I release a book, I only do so when I am confident that I have told the story that I set out to tell. How it is received is up to the reader. You cannot make someone love a story that doesn’t speak to them, and you should not try and stop them from speaking out about why they don’t like it, even if, at times, it is very difficult to hear. 

I am constantly striving to improve my craft, and sometimes that means reading a review and then rereading the story to see what that person responded so negatively to. Sometimes it also means admitting I screwed up and going back to fix it, listening when someone says, hey, this thing you wrote is problematic, apologizing, and seeking out greater knowledge and understanding so as to not to screw up the same way again. 

The last few years have seen a significant influx of books on the market. Competition is huge. Do you take the market into account when you write your stories, or is it all from your heart?

I write from my heart and I tell the story that the characters share with me. Really, I feel like I am just the conduit for them to get their words and experiences out there. Maybe that means I will never be a popular or well known author, but, it does mean I will have accomplished the goal I set out to accomplish, in telling stories and creating worlds in which the characters come alive and every experience in every story is different. 

What is your favorite inspirational saying and how does its meaning work in your life?

“Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell, leads up to light,” -John Milton. 

Years ago, when I first read that quote, it struck me as personifying the character I had been writing for over 15 years as part of an online roleplay game. His struggles to see the good in himself, his struggles to move past mistakes of the past, his struggles to find joy in being around friends and family members. Really, that character just struggled to get out of his way. He self-sabotaged. He used snark, sarcasm and standoffish behavior to keep others at arms length, and he told himself over and over that he didn’t deserve good things, and so, when good things came his way, he ignored them, avoided them, or outright fled. 

There are pieces of that character in every character I write. The journey of the characters to get to a good place, to find love, to find joy, to learn how to embrace it, those are things I love to explore. In my stories, there is always a glimmer of light, even in the beginning. It gives the readers something to look forward to and it gives the character a goal. Will they chase it? Will they grasp it? Will they cling to it or will they throw it away. 

In my own life, there was always this goal, from the time I was ten or eleven. I was going to write and tell stories. I was going to create characters and worlds. The path there was never straight. At times it was narrow, at times it was blocked, at times it twisted and curved and bent back on itself and led to the edge of a cliff. I’ve never been scared of leaping off. I learned not to be scared of moving some of those obstacles out of my way and never looking back. 

Am I there yet? Somewhere. I don’t think there is an end to this path. I think I have found my first point of light in becoming an author and sharing my stories, but there are many different colors of light left to explore. 

Do your books have a moral/message, or are they focused on entertainment only?

I try and balance my entertainment with messages and social issues that I feel are glossed over. For example, in my novel ….And All Shall Fade to Black, I tackle the issues of domestic violence between two males, as well as an eating disorder in a male character. Romance does bloom over the course of the book while the characters share their struggles and learn healthy ways of coping with them, but there are no quick fixes, and their problems are not magically solved over the course of the book, but they do get a happy ending. 

I do love writing banter between characters though, and giving a character a buddy that they can have honest conversations with but still have humorous interactions with, is something I strive for in all of my book. My books tend to be a little dark, a little angsty, a little gritty and raw, but the characters I’m writing about are living their lives to the best of their abilities and handling whatever challenges, and triumphs, that come their way. 

HALFWAY TO SOMEDAY

Warnings: Flashbacks of domestic abuse, and combat situations, suicide ideations

Heat level: Nonexplicit (though there is frottage at the end)

Tags:  self-harm, cutting, stalking, PTSD, domestic abuse survivor, musician, ex-military, insta-love

Rocker Jesse Winters just wants to be left alone. If he could melt into oblivion he would and bid farewell to the wild child of rock n’ roll so many have dubbed him in recent months. Truth is, there was never anything reckless, wild or even deliberate about most of the things that had happened on Wild Child’s last tour, but had anyone cared to listen? No! Which was precisely why he was sitting in a cabin high up in the Colorado mountains, hoping the incoming blizzard would bury him forever. 

Ryker Jorgensen left the VA hospital with a bunch of prescriptions and pamphlets on how to deal with reentering the civilian world, not that he’s in any hurry to do so. His nightmares still keep him up at night, and every new limitation he discovers gives him more reason to believe that he’s hopelessly useless now. Better to drive up to his cousin’s cabin and lick his wounds. Come spring, maybe, he’d look into being around people, if only for long enough to make the kind of money he’d need to buy his own secluded place. 

The last thing he ever expected to see was the man whose face had been plastered in his footlocker and his dreams for the better part of the past six years, but Jesse Winters is nothing like he imagined. When trying to leave Ryker out in the storm doesn’t work, Jesse resorts to ignoring him. But two wounded souls trapped in a snowed in cabin have little choice but to reach out for one another when emotions get frayed. His only hope is that Jesse will trust him enough to let him drag him back from the edge before he’s just another burned out star in the legacy that is rock n’ roll. 

EXCERPT:

The winds whipped against the truck so hard, it rocked, throwing him out of the past. A mercy, despite the violence of the storm. He took that as his cue to get out, grab his duffel bag, and head for the door. Every step took effort. The snow was piled high, and some of the drifts were well past his knees. How easy would it be to lie down and go to sleep in it, never to wake again? He forged a sloppy path to the door, complete with an outline of his body when he face-planted inches from the steps. He didn’t want to think of how painful that misstep could have been had he actually struck the steps, or perhaps it would have made life easier for him to give himself over to the cold. Instead, he gripped the handrail and climbed the steps, coming to stand before the door of the cabin. 

Knocking loudly, Ryker shivered, pulling his coat tighter around him as he waited. He was about to knock again when the door swung open to reveal wary green eyes in a too-pale face framed by dark, cascading waves of blond hair. Ryker blinked, stunned at the outright hostility that pulled the man’s lips down into a scowl, his trim beard and mustache only serving to emphasize it more. His wrinkled long-sleeved T-shirt was backward and inside out, and it twisted near the waistline, revealing a swath of pale abs. It looked as though he’d hastily donned it on his way to the door.

“Pretty sure you’re at the wrong cabin,” the guy growled, moving to shut the door in Ryker’s face. Slamming his hand against it kept Ryker from being left out in the cold. 

“Even if it’s the wrong cabin, which I don’t think it is, there’s a storm coming, in case you hadn’t noticed, so I think I’ll just come in out of it, thanks.” Ryker took a step forward and trying to wedge through the opening. The other man held firm, however, and they stood there glaring at each other.

“Look,” the man snapped, “you could be a psycho or a serial killer for all I know, so you ain’t getting in here. I’ve got enough problems without accidentally ending up dead.”

Ryker felt the impatience radiating off the other man, which was fine by him; he was getting pretty goddamned impatient and cold himself. 

“You look—” Ryker retorted, studying the guy more intently through bleary, snow-clouded eyes. Something about him looked really damned familiar. “I’ve been on the road for hours. It’s fucking cold out here, and it’s snowing buckets. I’m supposed to be at my cousin’s cabin, which the GPS says is right here. So here I am, and I’ve got no intention of driving anywhere until the shit lets up. My cousin’s name is Kyle—”

*****

Jesse couldn’t believe this shit. When he saw Kyle, he was gonna choke him to death with his own bass strings. 

“Morrison,” Jesse finished with a sigh.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083YW8DLW

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Halfway-Someday-Wild-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B083YW8DLW

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Halfway-Someday-Wild-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B083YW8DLW

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Halfway-Someday-Wild-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B083YW8DLW

AUTHOR BIO:

LAYLA DORINE lives among the sprawling prairies of Midwestern America, in a house with more cats than people. She loves hiking, fishing, swimming, martial arts, camping out, photography, cooking, and dabbling with several artistic mediums. In addition, she loves to travel and visit museums, historic, and haunted places. Currently she has seen forty-nine of the fifty states, with plans to visit her final one, Alaska, in the upcoming year. Every journey is an inspiration and every shred of inspiration gets sprinkled into her tales. 

Layla got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists, musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years. Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes it’s aliens crash landing near a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she can often be found curled up with a good book, a kitty on her lap, and her dog, Jinxx, by her side.

Email (public address): layladorine13@outlook.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/layladorine

Website: http://layladorine13.wixsite.com/layl...

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

OTHER NOVELS BY AUTHOR: 

Guitars and Cages

Guitars and Choices

Roadhouse Reds

Gypsy’s Rogue

Desolation Angel

…And All Shall Fade to Black

Serpent’s Kiss

Broken Prince, Mismatched Eyes

Midnight Musicals and Coffee Ice Cream

Racing the Sky

Tripping Over the Edge of Night

Dust Trail Blues

Burning Luck

The post Wow ‘Em Wednesday appeared first on Kayleigh Sky.

Welcome to day 18 of the Rainbow Advent Calendar event! I hope you’re having fun reading all these stories and novellas. The event is a great idea, all organized by Alex Jane, and a wonderful way to treat ourselves throughout the holiday season.

I LOVE advent calendars, but I confess—I almost never open them up on the right days. Luckily, you can a list of all the stories still available to pick up for free, and when you download mine, you’ll have it for good. So take your time. You get the stories at the Facebook Rainbow Advent Calendar page here or see a list of links on Alex Jane’s webpage here. To get my story now, click here.

Bagging Santa’s Elf is an 18,000 plus novella about a bah humbug Christmas elf beset with money worries, who thinks the solutions to his problems might be dumping his poor artist boyfriend. Fortunately, this silly little elf is about to experience a Christmas revelation.

I hope you enjoy Bagging Santa’s Elf, and again, you can get it here.

The post HAPPY HOLIDAYS! appeared first on Kayleigh Sky.

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New Release Announcement!

This is another release from Kasia Bacon. I loved hosting her for an author interview in Into the Unknown, and now I’m super excited to share the news of her newest release. Keeping reading for tidbits and buy links. Don’t miss it!

 

 

An archer’s heart is a hard target to hit…

Luckily, the Queen’s Guards are good shots!

TWENTY-ONE ARROW SALUTE

by Kasia Bacon

Twenty-One Arrow Salute, book # 2.5 in the fantasy Order Series, is now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon

Amazon UK

Check out the blurb and the cover!

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____________________________________

Verhan Tŭrryés of Black Mountain is a handful.

Freshly enlisted in the Highland Regiment, he does all he can to steer clear of responsibility and commitment. Just not his cup of mead, that. Loose of tongue and even looser of morals, he rarely misses an opportunity to get into trouble—and into the other archers’ knickers, too.

In a unit composed almost entirely of Dark Elves, Hernan Seinnés, with his green eyes and auburn hair, is an outsider. When Verhan, up the creek again, is blackmailed into helping Hernan, he never expects to fall for him. But during the long hours spent training Hernan for the Honour Guard, feelings strike the Highlander right in the heart—and with the force of an arrow.

Unversed in relationships, Verhan finally plucks up enough courage to tell Hernan how he feels, only to drive the Asirhwӱnian away instead. If Verhan can swallow his pride, he might get one last chance to show Hernan what he means to him—and maybe this time he can hit the mark.

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A linguist and an avid reader with a particular fondness for fantasy and paranormal genres, KASIA BACONlives in London with her husband. When not tearing her hair out over a translating project, she writes stories about the shenanigans of emotionally constipated assassins and sexy Elves. Otherwise, she can be found shaking her loins at a Zumba class, binging on anime or admiring throwing knives on Pinterest. She has a mild coffee and lemon tart addiction. A lover of MMA and Muay Thai, she also enjoys nature and the great outdoors. She dreams of becoming independently wealthy, leaving the city and moving into her wooden mini-manor—located in the heart of stunningforests resembling those of the Elven Country depicted in her tales.

Find Kasia online:

Website

Amazon

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

Goodreads

Sign up for her mailing list

The River City Chronicles

 

Author Name: J. Scott Coatsworth

Publisher: Other Worlds Ink.

Release Date: Wednesday, May 302018

Format: ebook, paperback

Price: 5.99 eBook, 16.99 paperback

Story Type: Novel

Word Count: 115k

Cover Artist: Kelley York

 

Genres: gay fiction, queer fiction, magical realism, contemporary – Not a romance

Characters: gay, bi, trans, straight

Series Title: River City

Position (Number) in Series: First

Necessary to Read Previous Books: No

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Book Blurb

Everyone in the River City has a secret, and sooner or later secrets always come out.

A group of strangers meets at Ragazzi, an Italian restaurant, for a cooking lesson that will change them all. They quickly become intertwined in each other’s lives, and a bit of magic touches each of them.

Meet Dave, the consultant who lost his partner; Matteo and Diego, the couple who run the restaurant; recently-widowed Carmelina; Marcos, a web designer getting too old for hook-ups; Ben, a trans author writing the Great American Novel; teenager Marissa, kicked out for being bi; and Sam and Brad, a May-September couple who would never have gotten together without a little magic of their own.

 

Excerpt

Carmelina ducked into her bathroom one last time, checking her frizzy red hair. It was all over the place, as usual. There was only so much you could do with yourself once you passed fifty, and it was, after all, the first time she’d left the house for fun since Arthur had passed away.

Not that tonight was going to be fun. She was joining the Merry Widows Club—three women who had also lost their significant others. Loylene had invited her, and she hadn’t had the heart to say no.

Loylene was a sweetheart, but she was totally caught up in Tupperware and counting calories. Carmelina had never counted calories in her life—she had her gorgeous Italian hips to prove it.

Marjorie was a bit of a bitch. Carmelina had often wondered if the woman’s husband had died just to get away from her nagging.

She barely knew Violet, who was, as her name suggested, a wallflower who never spoke above a peep.

She kissed Arthur’s photo on the mantel on her way out, the one where he was scowling because they’d been late to dinner for their twentieth anniversary. And true to form, she was late now, due to be at the little restaurant at five p.m.—in just five minutes.

Still, she was sure she had enough time to check her lipstick one last time.

* * * * *

It was a quarter to six when she finally arrived at the One Speed, the little pizza place the Club had chosen. Despite the fact that she lived just a couple miles away in River Park, it had taken her almost half an hour to get there due to a road project on H Street. And parking had been horrific. If only she’d left earlier.

“Hi girls,” she said, sliding smoothly into the open seat.

The other women had black veils on, something she found a bit morbid. Sure, she had lost Arthur less than three months before, after thirty wonderful years together. But she had given up on wearing black after the first week, and these women had been bereaved for more than a year.

Marjorie gave her a sour look. “You forgot your veil. And you’re an hourlate.”

“Forty-five minutes,” she shot back, picking up the menu. “And I guess I left mine at the dry cleaners.”

Loylene flashed her a perky smile. “Oh, that’s all right,” she said, opening up her large, woven pastel-peach purse. “I brought an extra, just in case.” She handed over a veil that had seen better days—creased and wrinkled and caked with little bits of something.

“Thank you, darlin’, but I won’t put you out. I’ll bring my own next time.” She set it aside.

Violet nodded and said something unintelligible.

“What was that?” Carmelina was starving. She ached to move past the pleasantries and get her meal ordered.

“She said she’s happy you’re here.” Marjorie’s severe tone left no doubt as to how shefelt about the matter.

“Shall we order?” Carmelina said, trying to move things along. “The minestrone soup looks good. I’ll bet all they have to do is ladle that into a bowl.…”

“The ritual first.” Marjorie’s tone brooked no argument.

“The what?” Carmelina asked.

“The ritual,” Loylene said, pulling a small green Tupperware container out of her voluminous purse. She popped open the lid, displaying a bunch of small, folded pieces of white paper, and set it in on the table. “Each of us takes one of these, reads it, and then describes what her husband or…” She glanced at Violet. “…spouse liked.”

Carmelina rolled her eyes. “Does it take long?” Her stomach rumbled.

“I’ll go first,” Marjorie said, ignoring her. She took a piece of paper and read aloud. “Clothing.” She stared off into space for a long moment. Carmelina was starting to worry about her when her eyes suddenly refocused and she smiled mistily. “Tube socks. Martin loved his tube socks.”

“Very good,” Loylene said, putting the box in front of Violet, who picked a piece of paper, and read it quietly.

“Burnt toast,” she said softly with no further explanation.

Carmelina’s stomach rumbled.

“Okay,” Loylene said with a frown. She drew her own paper. “Ah, TV Show. Um… that’s a hard one. He watched so many. Davis livedin front of the television.”

“Hoarders?” Carmelina suggested helpfully. She’d been to Loylene’s house.

“Ice Road Truckers,” Loylene said triumphantly. “Your turn.”

Carmelina obediently took a piece of paper, and then stared at it blankly. Printed on the paper was “favorite kink.” She looked up. All three women were staring at her expectantly. “The 49ers. Favorite sports team,” she lied and shoved the paper back in the box.

Violet’s phone buzzed. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this. It’s Sylvie.” She took the phone outside.

“Sylvie?” Carmelina asked.

Loylene nodded. “Her wife. Violet’s an honorary member. Sylvie’s not actually dead, just working.”

Carmelina shook her head. This had been a bad idea. “Can we just order? I haven’t had a bite to eat since breakfast.” She waved at their waiter.

“First we share the objects we brought that belonged to our spouses,” Marjorie said, pulling out an old pair of athletic socks with red stripes from her purse.

“Oh hell no.” Carmelina pushed away from the table and threw down her menu, ignoring Loylene’s shocked expression. “I’m sorry, Loylene, but grieving at home is better than this.” She stormed out of the restaurant with just the right amount of righteous indignation, or so she would tell herself later.

As she walked back to her car, something stuck to her shoe.

It was a green sheet of paper. She turned it over. “Italian Cooking School—Come Learn From The Best.” It was for a restaurant called “Ragazzi,” and the classes started on Sunday. She looked at the address. It was right across the street.

How had she never noticed it before?

She stuffed the flier into her purse and drove home, where gelato awaited her.

 

GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. Enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win. Click here.

 

Buy Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DCFPCGZ/

Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/River-City-Chronicles-Scott-Coatsworth/dp/1732307504/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-river-city-chronicles-j-scott-coatsworth/1128593446?ean=9781732307506

Kobo:https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-river-city-chronicles-1

iBooks: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-river-city-chronicles/id1381215078?mt=11

QueeRomance Ink (all buy links): https://www.queeromanceink.com/book/the-river-city-chronicles/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29246443-the-river-city-chronicles

 

Author Bio

Scott lives with his husband Mark in a little yellow bungalow in East Sacramento, with two pink flamingos by the front porch.

He spends his time between the here and now and the what could be. Indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine, he devoured her library. But as he grew up, he wondered where the people like him were.

He decided it was time to create the kinds of stories he couldn’t find at Waldenbooks. If there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

His friends say Scott’s brain works a little differently – he sees relationships between things that others miss, and gets more done in a day than most folks manage in a week. He seeks to transform traditional sci fi, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something unexpected.

He runs Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that bring queer people together to promote and celebrate fiction that reflects their own reality.

 

Connect with Scott

Author Website: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworthauthor/

Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jscoatsworth

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8392709.J_Scott_Coatsworth

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Scott-Coatsworth/e/B011AFO4OQ

 

Waves to everyone because it’s been a while since I’ve had an author interview, and I’m really excited that CM Corett decided to stop by today. CM has a new release for you, too, so after we talk a bit, take a look at the cover and blurb for Amending Plans, then hit that buy link, lol. You won’t regret it.

Hey everybody. I have a special edition of Into the Unknown with J. Scott Coatsworth, who is here to talk to us about his new release, Lander, which is the follow up to the Rainbow Award winning Skythane, and it releases today, the 13th. But before we get to that, we’re just going to chat.

Let’s start with a really popular question. Many writers are introverts and get their energy from solitude, which is not a bad thing given that writing is usually a solitary pursuit. Are you the kind of writer who can keep going for hours all by yourself, or do you get worn out from all the drama going from your head onto the page? J

I tend to write in short, focused sprints with a bit of time around the edges to let ideas work their way through. I don’t do a lot of rewriting, so I like to develop the story intentional piece by intentional piece so in the end, it mostly makes sense.

Ah. Focus is a good thing. I have none of it, lol. I also tend to be a bit high-strung. Do you think writers need loads of confidence or a big ego to make it in this business?

Absolutely not. In fact, I think confidence and ego are two of the most destructive things for a writer’s work. If you think you know everything, that your writing is fantastic, amazing, best ever, you stop growing. We writers live in a sea of doubt. One bad review can throw us into a deep, days-long funk. But the flipside of it is that we’re always testing ourselves, stretching what we do, asking ourselves if it’s good enough. Sure, you don’t want to be so doubtful of your own work that you never send it out. But a healthy dollop of doubt is one of the things that keeps me improving as an artist. If I ever feel like I have this whole thing down, it’s probably time to quit.

Whew! So I’m not alone. Good to know. I usually have more than my share of doubt, which can be a problem sometimes, especially since the last few years have seen a significant influx of books on the market. There is a lot of good stuff out there, and the competition is huge. Do you take the market into account when you write your stories, or is it all from your heart?

Anyone who wants to sell books has to at least be aware of the market. I am writing for two markets – one is the queer romance market, and the other is the queer sci fi market. While there is some overlap, they really are two different things.

So I take that into account. My Oberon Cycle is more tilted to the romance side, while my Liminal Sky series tilts more to sci fi.

Regardless, though, within those frames I write what I want, what I am passionate about.

I do, as well. The joy for me is in being in love with my story. But, I also have to say that there’s nothing wrong with writing to market. One of my favorite writers is Raymond Chandler and I’m pretty sure he wrote what he thought other people would buy. His stories, powerfully and incomparably, capture a specific place and time. When did you learn that stories have power, and how did that affect you?

I remember it very clearly. I was in third grade, and was reading “The Two Towers.” I got to the part where Boromir was killed by the orcs, and something just broke inside me. I cried for days.

I think I’d never really encountered death before that. Oh, I knew what it was. I knew things and even people died. But it hit me hard.

Learning that writing had that power was one of the things that made me want to write – the idea that emotions could be passed on from one person to another via the written word. It still inspires me today.

If you couldn’t be that person who writes, for whatever reason, who would you like to be for a day and why?

Wow. Hmmm… someone young and gay who grew up in a world where it was a lot easier than it was when I was in high school in the early eighties. Maybe an athletic hottie like swimmer Matthew Mitcham? See what like is like now for young, athletic, popular gay guys.

Well, I’m going to employ a cliché here and say that without those experiences, for better or worse, you wouldn’t be you. But… there’s a whole lot of work to be done to ensure kids are given with all the acceptance and support they need to explore who they are. Being a youngster is hard enough under the best of circumstances, and we carry a lot of baggage with us from our youth. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that writers often work things out in their writing and sometimes that can dredge up painful feelings. Sometimes what we write is hard anyway. What are your toughest scenes to write and is there a particular scene that was the hardest of all?

I have a hard time with sex scenes. Not the no-holds-bared erotica type, but the tamer versions that would go into one of my sci fi books. Making it hot enough to keep the reader interested, but making it flow in the story and plot too.

This is always tough because some readers what sex scenes and some don’t, but personally, I think it needs to work with the story. So now that you have Lander out there, what else are you working on, and when can we expect it?

So many things.

Lol. Okay. Can you tell us about a few?

After “Lander”, the next up is “The River City Chronicles,” the book form of my successful web serial about a group of friends (mostly queer) in Sacramento. It will be my first self-published work.

In October, “The Rising Tide” comes out – book two of “Liminal Sky” (after “The Stark Divide).

Sometime this year, Mischief Corner Books should start releasing “Marionettes in the Mist,” a four author serial I participated in over there, as a trilogy.

I’m already writing my 2019 releases – “Ithani” will be the last book in the Oberon Cycle, and “The Shoreless Sea” the last in the “Liminal Sky” trilogy.

Oh, and I have a bunch of stories coming back to me from anthologies and the like that I might either turn into an anthology, release as self-published stand-alones, or expand to full novels. Or all three!

Wow! That’s great! Looking forward to it. And thank you so much for stopping by to talk to us. It’s was great having you here.

Everyone else keep reading because I have a nice long excerpt for you and the blurb from Lander, plus a buy link and social media links and a GIVEAWAY!. I hope you enjoyed the interview!

****************************************************************

Book Blurb:

Sometimes the world needs saving twice.

In the sequel to the Rainbow-Award-winning Skythane, Xander and Jameson thought they’d fulfilled their destiny when they brought the worlds of Oberon and Titania back together, but their short-lived moment of triumph is over.

Reunification has thrown the world into chaos. A great storm ravaged Xander’s kingdom of Gaelan, leaving the winged skythane people struggling to survive. Their old enemy, Obercorp, is biding its time, waiting to strike. And to the north, a dangerous new adversary gathers strength, while an unexpected ally awaits them.

In the midst of it all, Xander’s ex Alix returns, and Xander and Jameson discover that their love for each other may have been drug-induced.

Are they truly destined for each other, or is what they feel concocted? And can they face an even greater challenge when their world needs them most?

The Oberon Cycle: Book Two

Series Blurb:

Xander is a skythane man whose wings have always been a liability on the lander-dominated half world of Oberon.

Jameson is a lander who has been sent to Oberon to find out why the supply of the psycho-amoratic drug pith has dropped off.

What neither knows is that they have a shared destiny that will change the two of them – and all of Oberon – forever.

****************************************************

Excerpt:

Jameson kissed Xander again, his passion fading, but his ardor for the man still in full bloom. It was good to find time for the two of them in the middle of madness.

Xander was at rest, peaceful as he floated on the surface of the water, his eyes closed and his muscles slack. His black wings trailed off below into the glow of the pond. He looked more like an angel to Jameson than he had since the first time they’d met.

Images flashed in his head—this place, other people, other times. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing them to go away.

Reluctantly they subsided. Jameson stood to get out of the water, shaking his head as if to dry his hair.

Xander pulled him back down for one more kiss. “What’s the hurry? I can still hear the storm roaring outside.”

Jameson growled. “I’m hungry. Don’t you ever get your fill?” He should have told Xander about the memories. He knew Xander saw them too, sometimes, but Jameson didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“Apparently not.” Xander let him go. “But I like to watch your backside, so I guess this is some kind of compensation.”

“Pervert.” Jameson smiled to himself. He was still sore from their exertions, but it was a good kind of sore.

He climbed up to the rock floor next to the pool, using one of the columns to steady himself. Something skittered across the edge of his vision. A bat? Or something like it? He looked after it, but it had vanished.

He went to pull his pants back on and wrinkled his nose. His clothes were filthy.

He opened his pack and grabbed a fresh set. He pulled on his underwear first, then laced up his shirt while Xander watched appreciatively. Getting dressed had been a hell of a lot easier before he’d gotten his wings. To compensate for his lack of skythane clothing, they’d raided the king’s closet, and it had been a challenge to find anything without a fur lining or silver buttons. King Theron had been a big man too—thick in the middle, if his clothes were any indication. Frowning, Jameson cinched his belt tight to hold up his pants.

“It suits you.” Xander smirked, getting out of the water and giving Jameson a full-on view of his beautiful body. He was muscled, but not overly so, his stomach firm and his body sleek. He was perfect.

Jameson felt a surge of love for Xander. He took full advantage of the unguarded moment, enjoying the show. Xander’s well-defined abs and his lopsided grin were almost enough to entice Jameson to give it another go, but the memories were messing with his head, and he really was hungry.

“Let’s eat.” Xander pulled out his own change of clothes and sniffed them.

“A little damp?”

“Yeah. Mildew from all the rain. Still, it’s better than the alternative.”

He grinned. It was a shame Xander needed to wear anything at all. “Um, food. Yeah. Sounds good.”

“We need to be ready to leave as soon as the storm lets up.” Xander pulled on his pants. “That means keeping up our strength. Getting fed, getting some sleep…. I want to look for Quince and the others, and my people need me back home. Things will be confused in Gaelan after the shift.”

My people. Jameson had his own people too, somewhere across the continent. “Things will be crazy in Oberon City too, I’d imagine.”

Xander nodded. As he finished dressing, Jameson took a look around the cavern. It was maybe fifty meters across, and half that deep, and there were dark shadows at several places near the back, leading off to other caves or rooms.

He wondered how far this cavern system went. His new gift—or curse?—wasn’t specific on details like that, though sometimes memories sprang wholly formed in his head.

Back home on Beta Tau, caverns could stretch on for hundreds of kilometers. The Great Rift system went on for at least three hundred and fifty, meaning it was theoretically possible to get from New Davos to Arctus without ever going aboveground.

He closed his eyes, trying to remember this place. The ability seemed to come and go randomly, but there had to be a way to summon it up at will. It had come to him when he needed it, but not of his own volition.

Again, there was a flickering, like something fluttering past in his peripheral vision. This time it slipped past on both sides. He looked around wildly, but there was nothing there. Not bats, then. He was losing his mind.

“What are you thinking about?” Xander asked. “You seem a little… distracted.”

“You didn’t see that?”

“What?”

“Never mind.” He sighed. “It’s probably just this place. I… remember it, but I don’t.”

“I know. Since that kiss, it’s been hit and miss for me too.”

Jameson nodded. That kiss. The one at the House of the Moon, when memories had flooded through him, through Xander, like a torrent. It had been the second time for him, but for Xander….

“Do you ever… see things that aren’t there?”

“Sometimes. Quick images. Like brief overlays of the past on the present.”

“Do you see them now?”

Xander looked around. “No, nothing now. You?”

“No. I….” He stopped. Something was moving at the edge of his vision. He looked around. The cavern seemed to shift, becoming brighter. There was a weird fluttering, as if a hundred dark wings were flapping just out of sight.

“Jameson, you okay?”

Everything went fuzzy for a moment, and his stomach clenched in protest. When he could see again, golden light flickered from candles placed all around the room. Where had they come from?

He turned back to Xander, but Elyra stood there instead, grinning at him, leaning forward, her breasts like two perfect moons under her vest. “You came. I’ve been waiting for hours.” She pulled him close. He could smell her musky perfume, feel her long raven-black hair brush against his cheeks as their lips met….

The world shifted again.

The cavern was dark, lit by only the smallest blue illumination from the pool, and he was all alone. The deep, keening sadness of loss cut him with a sharp physical pain. In his left hand was a bloody dagger, and his right cupped his torn intestines.

Shift.

A massive furry creature with eight arms and long teeth like a saber-toothed tiger rose up with a growl, and six eyes stared at him over its wrinkled snout. It swiped at him with a hairy paw tipped with sharp claws and he danced away….

Shift.

He was out of breath, gasping for air, and covered in sweat. He held on to one of the rock columns for support, staring over his shoulder. Surely they hadn’t followed him all the way back here.

There were shouts behind him, in the main cavern, and he took a desperate gulp of air and pushed himself onward, toward the darkness at the back of the cavern….

Shift.

He/They/We were joined, feeling a sense of peace and harmony at their union. He/They/We fed on the nutrients in the water, joined body and mind, and mused about the world outside and the events of the last few days. Each part of He/They/We shared its experiences out in the world, the others they had encountered before returning with their knowledge to enrich the whole. The time of the Great Move was coming….

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY!!!

Scott is giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate and three copies of his queer sci fi eBook “The Stark Divide.”

Enter here!

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Author Bio:

Scott lives between the here and now and the what could be. Indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine, he devoured her library. But as he grew up, he wondered where the people like him were.

He decided it was time to create the kinds of stories he couldn’t find at Waldenbooks. If there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

His friends say Scott’s brain works a little differently – he sees relationships between things that others miss, and gets more done in a day than most folks manage in a week. He seeks to transform traditional sci fi, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something unexpected.

He runs Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that bring queer people together to promote and celebrate fiction that reflects their own reality.

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