Vampires & Necromancers

Two February releases, because I am a crazy person and apparently don't know how to spread them out ^^; But Come to Me seems a good Valentine release, and is decidedly more lighthearted than Of Last Resort.

Since I will be blathering about OLR closer to its release date, I shall confine most of this post to Come to Me.  If there is something about OLR you would specifically like me to babble about, let me know. Otherwise you'll be getting all of my world-building rambling. And the way I managed to lose a list of names three different fucking times. You have been warned.

Come to Me was spawned by a request. I cannot write everything my beloved peeps ask me to write, for various and sundry reasons, but where I am able I try to do it. The request was simply for Sorin/Koray smut, which I tried, but some other stuff fell in there. I can't help it, I like it when they're suffering.

And now, tiny snippet.

Sorin glared at the fireplace. "I sought you out because I've scarce seen you this past fortnight and I missed you. I wanted to spend the day here with you, and everyone else is under orders to leave us alone."

"But?" Koray prodded when he fell silent.

"But a demon would kiss me with more interest than you showed," Sorin said, misery growing as he finally voiced the problem. "I know when someone wants to kiss me, necromancer, and when they are simply doing it to have done."

"Yes," Koray said bitterly. "I am well aware how much you know about kissing. I've heard of nothing else the past few months. Every goddess damned lord and lady in this place loves to regale me with all that you've done to and with them."

Rage, sharp and white and hot, cut through Sorin as he imagined slicing apart every last damn interfering bastard. That they would dare convince Koray that he could do something so contemptible as behave unfaithfully. "Are you accusing me of being unfaithful?"

"What—no! Stop being stupid!" Koray said, fingers twitching, likely with an urge to throw something at Sorin's head. "I'm saying that all your former paramours are more than happy to ask me if I have done one thing or another with you. They love to explain in alarming detail all the things they've enjoyed with you. Things I have certainly never been approached about. Every time they bring it up I have to insist it's none of their business—which it's not—because I can hardly admit I do not even know what they're talking about! That I have never heard of the things they describe!" His anger broke like a dropped plate; he stared glumly at the floor when he said, "I finally broke down and asked Neikirk to explain what they were talking about because apparently I'm not— You don't want to do any of those things with me that you did with them." Sorin had never seen him look so sad and lost. He wanted to kill every last bastard in the castle who had helped to put that look there. Including himself. Koray's voice was barely audible when he added, "I always want to kiss you, but all I can think anymore is how boring I must be compared to the rest of them."

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LT3 link 

Ahn!Con, Pumpernickel, Writing, and Other Babblings

I have been putting off blogging because I dislike posts full of negativity. I used to bitch and whine and moan and never have anything good to say on my LJ, and over the years I just lost my taste for it.

But some things need to be said, so here we go. If you prefer to skip unhappy stuff, then skip to the pretty covers below and endure writing babbles instead.

1 - Ahn! Con

This was a small con in Kansas City. It's our first time going, and we probably won't go again. We were deliberating, b/c it could grow and be more financially promising in the future ... but a bunch of little things, combined with the fact my email complaining of those things has been completely ignored has put us off it entirely.

The couple of staff with whom we interacted were nice enough. There was a woman who was always asking if we needed water/breaks/etc. She was nice. I think one of the guys in charge of it spoke to us for about fifteen minutes, and he seemed nice. That's about it. Our main irritation was one of the vendor's behind us, Anime Source KC. The guy who seemed in charge of that booth was loud, rude, and obnoxious to the point he made not just us, but many of the customers uncomfortable. We spent all of Saturday listening to him gleefully shout annoying things like 'titty titty bang bang' which might seem stupid, but after hours of it, alongside other such stupid behavior, we had our fill. The far more uncomfortable part was how he eagerly announced that his friend had a rape face, did you see his rape face, he's got a rape face. All fucking weekend we put up with that. And there was nothing we could do about it because the people laughing and playing along and encouraging him was the staff at the con table nearby. Combined with the shitty way staff treated my friends Amanda and Julie, of Lesser Key Studios, Ahn! Con has definitely been added to our con blacklist.

There were some bright spots. One, I got to hang with Amanda and Julie. Amanda and I met in college, and she's one of the few from those days I still keep in touch with. I also edit the print volumes of their awesome comic.

We also met the lovely people of Grave Impressions, another cool online comic.

I think the best part, though, was the few people who came to our table and were totally stoked to learn that we do accept (and are actively seeking) trans stories. LT3 is slowly acquiring more and more stories on that front, and it makes us happy.

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2 - Pumpernickel

Most people who follow me already know this, but this past Saturday my nine year old cat Pumpernickel had to be put to sleep. It came out of nowhere and happened so fast that almost a week later I'm still reeling. He was my baby, and I miss him fiercely. Many, many thank yous to everyone who has sent me kind words. They helped more than I can express <3 p="">
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3 - Writing

I have finally managed to finish the Black Magic short I was working on. Tentative title is Come to Me, but we'll see. I seem to suck at titles these days. It was meant just to be a short, smutty thing, but I apparently can never write just smut. So instead of 5k of smut, it's about 12k of Sorin and Koray being their usual (idiotic) selves and also smut. I tried, I swear.

My task for the weekend is to finish Red & Rapunzel. After that, I need to sort things out, because I have two charity stories to write and I need to get cracking on a serial to follow A Suitable Replacement.

Looking for More, my story from LT3's That Famous Happy End anthology, is getting touched up by an editor. Once that's set, I'll be self-pubbing it, since I have so many other stories with LT3 right now that it's just easier for everyone if I do a few myself :3

Of Last Resort comes out week after next. Much love, as ever, to those who choose the slow-torture serial method of reading. Your comments and threats never fail to cheer me :3

Wriggle & Sparkle is out at Yaoifix, will let peeps know when the second part posts. I wish I had enough time to write more of them, but alas the two parts will have to suffice for now.

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4 - Other

And now that I reach this point in the post, I realize I don't actually have anything else to add. Ideally I will spend my weekend writing. I would really like to get back to The High King's Golden Tongue. I am totally in love with the (much, much) longer version of this story.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Stay warm (or cool)!

<3 p="">

Yay, Christmas

I am departing for three-ish days to go hang with my family. I will return sometime on the 26th. Will answer emails and such, but may be slow to do so. Probably will be quiet on the trip down, it's about 2.5 hours, but after that you can probably reach me (depending on what I am dragged into upon my arrival :3)

I hope the holidays are treating everyone well ^__^

Have WIP snippet. This is from Red and Rapunzel, which Sasha has assured me does not in fact need to be thrown out.

Rambling for the Weekend

The saddest part about being busy is that even exciting things just become one more item to tick off. I rarely feel anxious about the release of a new book because I'm so fucking busy I rarely even know how it's doing beyond the odd comment or review I catch while trolling sites for other things.

That being said, I am still very grateful for every kind and enthusiastic word I come across. Two lovely reviews for The Engineered Throne crossed my path the other day, and those made my month. The lovely and sweet Crissy is far too kind to me, and Joyfully Jay in general is always good to LT3, for which we're eternally grateful. Scrollin Them Papers is new to me, and a happy surprise.

In audiobook news, I now have three books in audio! ^_^ Prisoner, Backwoods Asylum, and joining them this week is Dance with the Devil.  Once they're out on all the usual sites I will let you know, for now they're just where those link (third party distribution usually takes about three weeks, give or take).

On the writing front front, today's agenda is to start work on Clan Mordred. I need to find all my notes, reread SotK, but I remember the beginning I had in mind well enough to get that far. It begins with Amr naked :3  Will likely also pick away at Red and Rapunzel (argh that needs a better title. Later, later). 

It does not feel like a Friday, but then again, LT3's week (at least for me and Sasha) tends to run Saturday-Wednesday, so Th/F feels more like Sa/Su to us ^^

Now to stop slacking and get to work. Everybody have a good weekend ^__^

Too many words. I can't pick one.

Words meaning stories. It's always hard deciding what to work on next, especially after finishing something as exhausting as Princes of the Blood. Part of me wants to dive into another fantasy, and part of me is really fucking tired and just wants a break.

And the hard truth is that I do have to balance the shit that is pure indulgence with stuff that I want to write AND will sell. I can put a mountain of effort into Dragon Magic, but it's high fantasy and a foursome. It will never do as well as something like Midsummer Song or The High King's Golden Tongue.

OTOH I have quite a bit accidentally lined up for the first half of 2014. I have room to play for a little while. Princes of the Blood is done and with my editor, and I'll work out firm release dates once I've talked with her (the ones penciled in now are very tentative). I also have a couple of short stories -- Looking for More, which is from LT3's That Famous Happy End anthology, and SMP is returning my rights on Lukos Heat so LT3 will be releasing that sometime next year. I also have Wriggle & Sparkle coming out in January with Yaoifix, of course. It currently stands at two stories, I'm hoping to write a third to round it out.

My white board is filled with projects, and I only need to settle on a few, but mostly I just get overwhelmed and go do something else. The white board list currently is:

The Goblin Market
Dragon Magic
W&S 3
Vanilla Spice Latte (DofM sidestory)
The High King's Golden Tongue
Midsummer Song
Captive (Kria-verse)
Clan Mordred (SotK sequel)
Steampunk story
Fantasy tentacle story
The Duke's Bonded
The Last Tale of the Cursed Knight
Diamond Knights
Sam's gamer story

And there's other stuff I want to do, but whenever I open the files the stories just don't cooperate. Paradise hates me. There's a fairytale I've been trying forever (about the prince from Huntsman) and I think it might cooperate now that I've admitted the stupid fucking thing wants to be a threesome. I should add that to the board. The Prince's Toads.

I'm also slowly picking away at another fairytale. Working title is Red and Rapunzel. It ties loosely to all the other stories revolving around the Laughing Forest, though it's a different country and a section of it that has broken away/become evil. It's femslash, and trans*, and an amalgamation of fairytales:  Snow White and Rose Red, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel mostly, but with passing notes of Hansel and Gretel and Beauty and the Beast. It will probably wind up in LT3's fairytale rotation, so subscribers stay tuned :3

After I finish that, I will have to finally settle on my to do list. I seem to be in a poly mood, so I may just say fuck the police and work on Clan Mordred and/or Dragon Magic. We'll see.

Peace out, lovelies.