A historical romance set in Qing Dynasty Manchuria & China
Having done the unthinkable, Lady Choi Xian finds herself in an impossible situation.
Fleeing with her personal bodyguard, Commander Ishikawa Kenji, to The Forbidden City in China - where her lover and soon to be coronated Emperor holds sway, Xian believes she is safe.
However, with the Korean princess and future Empress determined to make her life a living hell, can Xian escape The Forbidden City before it's too late?
Grea (pronounced Gray) Alexander is a female writer of African American, Native American and Caucasian...American descent who does not write her profiles in the 3rd person.
Born and raised in Houston, TX, I have successfully wormed my way across many a border and have, in effect, managed to infect all that I survey with my particular brand of grea-ness. My books are very character-driven with a focus on flawed, dynamic, culturally-diverse characters and strong, smart female protagonists.
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Also, please note: I do not write children's books. My books are for adults. My books contain adult themes, adult situations, sexual situations, cursing, intoxication and violence. Some books have more than others. Some characters engage more than others. If you find such offensive, you might not want to read my work. Then again, you just might feel naughty and want to read them anyway. (wink)
Amazon: It’s where I take steamy, slow-motion river baths with tall, warrior women and sweaty, well-muscled, male sex slaves. www.Amazon.com/grea-alexander/e/B00HV...
Like the color gray. Or as an admirer once pointed out, like great without the t. (grin)
Q: Why the name SeaMonkey Ink?
Why not? (grin) What's not to love? I mean it's Ink squirting out of a Seamonkey. I mean sure no one has ever witnessed such a phenomenon, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. (laugh)
Seriously, when I was in school (high school and beyond) I used to play pranks under various code names - one of which was Seamonkey. I also have always enjoyed writing and back when I started to do so, I used to write everything by hand (which requires either lead or Ink) even long after I got my first word processor and computer. After I finally started typing directly, it still took ink to print.
Hence SeaMonkey Ink.
Q: Have you ever actually owned Seamonkeys?
Actually, I have and I'm pretty well convinced that there is a wanted poster with my name and likeness up somewhere in the SIA (Seamonkey Intelligence Agency) headquarters for mass genocide. (laugh) I try but I fail.
Q: Are any of your characters based on people you know/knew in real life?
Not really. Most are composites. However, I will say that more than a little of my own personality/thoughts/expressions pop up in my stories and among my characters.
For instance, in Rebellion Book I: Book of Quay, Phong Quay makes a statement that one day he is changing his name and not telling anyone what he changed it to. I've said that to people since I was like 5 - particularly when I get agitated at being disturbed.
So, if any real life person is used as a template for some of my dialogue and character behaviors it would be myself.
Though on the surface Lord Choi Quay Phong agrees to step away from the situation and let his daughter, Lady Choi Xian, decide for herself if she wants to officially become the soon to be coronated emperor’s concubine, he is secretly determined not to let that happen. To that end, he deploys a number of quite manipulative and frankly underhanded strategies in order to ensure his daughter changes her mind – including the recall of one of Choi Xian’s old childhood friends, Shinobi Commander Ishikawa Kenji, back from Japan.
As the events set in motion by Lord Choi’s secret machinations unfold and Xian grows closer and closer to the man whose mission it is to sever her ties with the emperor, Xian finds herself becoming more and more conflicted. When the truth of everything Lady Xian thought she knew about those around her unravels and her life begins to fall apart, in the heat of the moment, she does the unthinkable – further painting herself into a corner.
Fleeing with Kenji to The Forbidden City, where she believes the emperor will be a safe escape from the mess that has become her life, Xian goes directly from the frying pan and into the fire – with Kenji and the empress there to fan the flames.
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All in all, this was great fun to write. There is angst, sarcasm, lies, betrayal, romance, steamy love scenes, ill-fated lovers, manipulation, rivalry, mischief and downright wickedness. You know, all of the usual things that make my books so fun to write and read. (laugh)
This story is not all sunshine and light; however, it's not all doom and gloom either. One of the fun moments between Kenji and Xian can be read here in this sample chapter: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
To be fair, I must stress that the Sedition series is Lady Choi Xian’s and Commander Ishikawa Kenji’s story.
The Rebellion Series, on the other hand, is their parents’ story and thus, as they are their parents' children, details regarding Xian’s and Kenji’s backstories appear in Rebellion II: Soung and Rebellion III: Choi. Phong Quay, Ni Soung, Whey and many others from the Rebellion series pop in and out of Sedition; however, their roles are very limited.
While I write all of my books so that you can pick up any of them at any point in any of my series and be able to follow the story and get the gist of things, there are some references that will not have the impact/resonance to new readers as they will to people who have read the Rebellion Books. While I did give sufficient summary/background information for even new readers to have an understanding of what is happening, I did not go into detail. If you want that detail, I would suggest you go back and read the Rebellion Books (if you have not already).
For those of you who read the Rebellion books, there are some rather interesting revelations in Sedition: Xian. Aside from revealing Xian’s unexpected connection to the Korean princess, you’ll finally learn exactly what was said between Lady Xian and Lady Lai in that lonely wing of the palace (including a bombshell about Xian’s mother, Ni Soung). There is also a juicy little morsel about Akiko’s past that Kenji has been keeping a secret – even from his mother.
Lastly, some unexpected characters from the Rebellion Series also make an appearance. If you read a name and think it sounds familiar, it might just be. (wink)
I hope you'll enjoy reading Sedition Book I: Xian as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Xian and Kenji reunite after many silent years apart and as is the norm with Choi family, chaos is never far behind. With the many secrets being revealed and choices being made, good or bad, repercussions are bound to occur.
I'm so excited to finally begin this new spin-off from the Rebellion series. These youngsters look like that they're going to leave all the machinations and conspiracies of their parents behind with all the trouble they get themselves into. I can rant some more on this book but then its all going to be spoilers. If you've not read the Rebellion series then get to it because these two are just as if not more twisted than their predecessors.
Advanced review copy provided for voluntary review consideration.