Dreamspinner sale at ARe and Equilibrium sequel
September 16, 2011 at 12:13 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Promotion, Short story | Leave a commentTags: dreamspinner, equilibrium, promotion, sales
From September 15-30, All Romance ebooks are offering a 25% rebate on all Dreamspinner titles. The rebate comes in the form of ebook bucks, ARe’s in-store currency, which get credited to the customer’s account. If you click on the banner above you’ll get to all Dreamspinner’s titles; if you want to pick up a copy of Equilibrium, you can go here. 🙂
Speaking of Equilibrium, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve sold a short story that’s a mini-sequel to Equilibrium. It’s a Burreela-based Christmas story called Tinsel and Dust, and it will be out in December, just in time for Christmas. 🙂
Coming soon: Rust Red: Galvanized
September 7, 2011 at 9:42 pm | Posted in Color Box, Novella, Rust Red: Galvanized, Torquere Press | Leave a commentTags: Color Box, cover art, Rust Red: Galvanized, torquere, writing
This time next week, I will be in America. This time in 3 weeks, I will still be in America and yet the world will be filled with sunshine and puppies and rainbows, because my Torquere Press Color Box will be out. Woo hoo! As my subject line implies, it’s called Rust Red: Galvanized, and you have no idea how difficult it is for me not to type “my Torquere Colour Box, Rust Red: Galvanised” every time I talk about it.
Seriously, America, you kill me with your Zs all over the place and your lack of Us where Us should be, you really do. As if me facing another 6 weeks of driving on the wrong side of the road wasn’t bad enough, you also have to curb my natural inclination to spell properly.
Joking, Americans! I love your country. You have Junior Mints.
Anyway. The new book is a novella of about 17,000 words, give or take, that continues the story of Adam and Chris, who we met in Eyes Wide Shut. The cover art and an unedited blurb are below the cut.
Eyes Wide Shut giveaway at The Romance Studio
August 28, 2011 at 6:26 pm | Posted in Color Box, Eyes Wide Shut, Promotion, Writing | Leave a commentTags: eyes wide shut, giveaways, promotion, torquere
To win a copy of Eyes Wide Shut, the prequel to my upcoming Torquere Press release Rust Red: Galvanized, take a mosey on over to The Romance Studio and comment on this post.
Equilibrium giveaway at the Romance Studio
August 28, 2011 at 8:36 am | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Promotion | 2 CommentsTags: contests, dreamspinner, equilibrium, promotion
I’ve got some posts up at The Romance Studio talking about Equilibrium, and anyone who comments to one of those posts will go into a draw to win a copy of the book. The posts are here and here, and I hope to see you there!
Rust Red Color Box teaser excerpt
August 14, 2011 at 9:22 pm | Posted in Color Box, Eyes Wide Shut, Novella, Rust Red: Galvanized, Torquere Press, Writing | 1 CommentTags: Color Box, eyes wide shut, Rust Red: Galvanized, torquere, writing
There are three lines published by Torquere Press that I find endlessly inspirational: the Color Box, Spice it Up and Birthstones lines. God I love a theme like that. So when the opportunity to write a Color Box came up, I jumped at the chance. The colour I chose was rust red, and I did that for a very specific reason.
About a year ago I wrote a little story called Eyes Wide Shut, that was part of the Healing Hearts Charity sip blitz in 2010. The characters from that story – Royal Flying Doctors Service physician Adam Taylor and his mining engineer boyfriend Chris Barker – stuck with me, as did the red landscape of the WA outback, and when the call for Color Boxes went out and I saw what had and hadn’t yet been taken, lo, the idea for a sequel to Eyes Wide Shut was born. I’m quite pleased that Adam and Chris’ story gets to continue.
It’s called Rust Red: Galvanized, and it will be out at the end of September. It’s quite a bit longer than Eyes Wide Shut, clocking in at around 17,000 words. Even though I wrote it a while ago, it’s still early days, since there isn’t even a blurb for it yet. However, I’ve gotten my edits back, so I’ve decided to post a little teaser (although obviously since it’s still in edits, this may or may not appear like this in the final version).
The story picks up 6 months after the end of Eyes Wide Shut. In this excerpt, Adam and Chris are in Surfer’s Paradise visiting Adam’s family. It is Schoolie’s Week, a time when about a million teenagers are in Surfer’s celebrating the end of high school by getting roaring drunk and generally making pests of themselves. The boys have just had their morning nookie interrupted by Adam’s mum. Heh.
***
Chris had recovered enough from his trauma to come out of the bedroom after breakfast, and he even consented to a dip in the pool in full view of both Adam’s parents, who were reclining in the shade of the verandah. He lay on his stomach on an airbed, his wet hair glistening in the sunshine, and ignored Adam, who swam slowly around him, much like a shark stalking its prey. That was what interrupted sex did for Adam, but he was doomed to not get any satisfaction that day.
Adam completed another circuit around Chris’ airbed, and this time Chris cracked open an eyelid. “Go away.”
“What? I’m not doing anything.”
“Yes, you are. You’re lurking. Plotting.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Plotting what? My parents are just over there.”
“I don’t know. Something.” Chris rested his chin on his arms. “I wouldn’t put anything past you today.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Talk about paranoid.” He swam around the airbed once more, and when he came up to Chris’ head again, Chris was still watching him. “Let’s go out tonight, just you and me.”
Chris was silent for a minute. “Where do you want to go?”
Adam shrugged, hanging on to the end of the airbed. “I don’t know. Out to dinner. There are some nice restaurants on the main strip.”
Chris made a face. “Won’t there be a lot of kids out there tonight?”
“Yeah, but we don’t have to go to any pubs. We’ll just go to a restaurant and come home.” Adam tugged on the edge of the airbed. “We’ll just have a nice meal, that’s all.”
“Okay. As long as we go somewhere with as few teenagers as possible.”
Adam nodded. “Deal.” He watched Chris for a moment, then smiled, slowly tugging the airbed around so that Chris’ back was to his parents. He glanced over at the verandah; his father was reading the paper, and his mother was on her feet, heading into the house. “Give us a kiss.”
Chris’ eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Because I want one.” Adam tugged the edge of the airbed a little. “Come on. We were so rudely interrupted this morning…”
Chris looked over his shoulder, then turned back. “All right, but just a quick one.”
Adam grinned and moved in. “I knew you couldn’t resist me for too long.”
“Whatever. Get over here.” Chris grabbed the back of Adam’s head and kissed him firmly, then tried to push him away. Adam resisted, kissing him again, softly, turning it into something to linger over. It was Chris’ turn to resist that, but after a moment he gave in, his fingers on Adam’s head turning gentle as they stroked through the hair at the nape of Adam’s neck.
“Lunch is ready, boys!” his mother called from the doorway of the house.
Chris groaned quietly, and Adam laughed into Chris’ mouth. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Chris’ as Chris’ fingers tightened around his neck. “It’s just that kind of day today. A frustrating one. This is why we have to get out on our own tonight.”
“We’ve got to do something on our own. Like have cold showers,” Chris said, letting him go and tumbling off the airbed and into the water.
***
Puppies, cover art and more reviews for Equilibrium
August 10, 2011 at 10:33 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Novel, Reviews | 2 CommentsTags: cover art, dreamspinner, equilibrium, real life, reviews
At the end of this week I’m going to have quite a lot of work to do, because I’ve got publisher edits on a novella due and I’m also trying to write something new in time for a deadline of September 1st. So of course I’m procrastinating like my life depends on it. I do have a cover art questionnaire open even as I speak, but I keep getting distracted by pictures of the West Australian outback and lovely panoramic photos of Perth. But if I don’t write down anything about these photos I’m looking at on the questionnaire, then I won’t get them on my cover, will I? No. No, I will not.
But mostly I’m thinking about getting a puppy. An opportunity has presented itself, and while it’s the absolute worst time for me to be getting a pet I am seriously considering it. Because I am the least practical person in the world when it comes to tiny, supercute little puppies. And I haven’t had a dog in a long time and I’m finally starting to miss it.
Anyway. I’ll make that tomorrow’s problem.
Today’s problem, which is not a problem at all, is that Equilibrium has gotten a lovely review on Amazon. Greek Reader gave it 5 stars and said:
I liked this one a lot. Both main characters and those surrounding them are described in well-rounded and lively detail. Michael has flaws and issues, some of which he’ll always struggle against, but he tries not to wallow and ultimately won’t be defined by them. Ryan has led an easier and more charmed life, but he has a streak of realism that allows him to understand Michael and to stand by him.
It’s a rather quiet and tender love affair, as they often are in real life, but never boring. Highly recommended.
So that’s got me all warm and fuzzy today! Puppies and a good review = a pretty good day, really.
Equilibrium review
August 1, 2011 at 10:17 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Reviews | Leave a commentTags: dreamspinner, equilibrium, reviews
In its first non-Goodreads review, Raine from Reviews by Jessewave gave Equilibrium 3.75 stars out of 5. In her very fair and balanced review, she describes Equilibrium as having “Great Australian background detail with a real sense of place”, and says:
This book displays a very good breadth of view in beautifully recreating an unusual environment filled with details of different social lives. For me the main hero wasn’t appealing enough to lift the book onto another level. However there is a lot here that is enjoyable and other readers had none of my particular problems with Michael.
Yeah, she didn’t like Michael very much, but that’s totally OK! Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, and I am fully aware of the potentially unlikeable aspects of Michael’s personality, so it’s no surprise to me to find that someone doesn’t like him. She loved Ryan, which is great because I love Ryan too; in fact, my favourite Goodreads review describes Ryan as a “superfine outback cowboy”, which just makes me laugh like a lunatic every time I think about it.
So, yes. Reviews! They never get old, and I appreciate every single one I get.
Writing and other stuff.
November 22, 2009 at 10:24 pm | Posted in Links, Reasonable Force, Reviews, Torquere Press, Writing | Leave a commentTags: links, reasonable force, reviews, writing, writing progress
This morning, I was 3,000 words behind where I wanted to be in the current thing I’m writing, and now I’m not. I even managed to get all of it done before NCIS, which was even better.
The current thing I’m writing needs to be at least 20,000 words for me to submit it where I want to submit it. This morning I thought it wasn’t going to make it, but now I think it will, which is good since I dislike useless padding intensely. Also, the stuff I wrote on Thursday night is absolutely shithouse and needs to be deleted, but I want to finish the thing first before I go deleting anything. It’s at 14,200 words now, and there’s quite a lot that needs going into the back end, so that should be fine. Plus, I’ve been skipping around writing the scenes which take my fancy in order to just get stuff done (I’ve come to realise that if I force myself to write a scene I’m finding difficult first before writing anything else that comes after it, all I’ll do is brood over it and not write a thing. At least if I skip around, I’m writing something and not nothing), and I’m realising there’s some stuff going into the back end that really needs foreshadowing before then, so that will have to go in, and there’s also half finished scenes all over the place which I’ve just highlighted so I know I have to go back to them (I do this at work too. That way when I’ve left something until last and then forgotten I have to do it – which I always do – I see it when I’m scrolling through the document one last time before I send it off I see it, and think, “What’s that highlight…OH. BUGGER.” and can do it. Saves sending something off and then having to email back with the right version, haha).
So. Long story short – should make 20,000 fairly easily. Excellent.
Speaking of writing, the Care and Feeding of Demons anthology has gotten a five-star review at Rainbow Reviews! How weird and exciting that is. The lovely reviewer called Reasonable Force ‘stylish’, a description which thrills me to no end. I will hug it and love it and call it George.
In other, more disconcerting news, here is a story demonstrating how someone can write exactly the same story as somebody else, completely by accident. The most horrifying part was probably this part:
I spend the rest of the day (that would be two weeks ago last Monday), reading and doing a cross story analysis. And I came up with one very definitive truth – I could not write the book I’d been writing.
Similarity included: the triggering event, the fact that this event happened around 20 years in the past, the villain, deaths of old friends, and, of course, the location. I’m just being general here. Trust me, the core elements of the stories were very similar.
Granted, the way I was telling the story, and the way the other author told their story were different, but it didn’t hid the fact that there was too much the same.
How awful. And what are the chances, god. But still, it can happen, and this is why in cases where someone is accused of plagiarism – where the accusation is a similarity of events rather than a wholesale copying of text – I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt until there’s actual proof of wholesale copying. They do say that there are no new ideas under the sun, after all.
Anyway, that’s enough for now. Bed is calling, because it’s work tomorrow, woe. Monday comes around with such monotonous regularity. If only the weekend came around so quickly and lingered so long.
Crossposted to all my journals today, because I’m lazy and want to go to sleep. Apologies to those who see this multiple times.
A few links for a Sunday night
November 1, 2009 at 9:20 pm | Posted in Links, Writing | 2 CommentsTags: editing, links, writing
This is a great post on the editing process, which also makes me laugh. Mainly because when I am editing (in- and outside of the day job), I jump straight to the second type of editing comments described in that post, the “less polite” ones. See, in my day job, those sorts of comments are the polite ones – you learn pretty quickly when you start doing what I do that if the comment is not in all caps, bolded and underlined (with or without several exclamation marks), then you’ve gotten off pretty lightly.
Sad, but true. We’re a pack of thick-skinned buggers in my department, let me tell you. We have to be, otherwise we’d never last.
Speaking of editing, here’s a useful post on self-editing. I’m a huge fan of self-editing, a HUGE fan. It makes my editing life a lot easier, and I love anything that makes my life easier. Plus, it’s a useful skill – I’d actually go as far as to say that it’s an essential skill – for anyone who puts pen to paper and expects to unleash the results on the unsuspecting public.
Care and Feeding of Demons
October 28, 2009 at 9:31 pm | Posted in Anthology, Short story, Torquere Press, Writing | 2 CommentsTags: reasonable force, torquere, writing
For the inaugural post in this LJ, I am happy to report that the Care and Feeding of Demons anthology is now out at Torquere Press!
Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to read any of the other stories in the anthology yet, and probably won’t have time to do that until the weekend (it’s just typical that this week would be the week of pressing deadlines at the day job), but I’m sure they’re all completely fabulous.
My story is called “Reasonable Force”, and follows Daniel, a member of an ancient order with God-given powers sworn to protect humans from demons. Grieving the sudden death of his fellow hunter – and secret lover – David, Daniel is bent on self-destruction, courting danger without thought for himself or his Order brethren. His antics attract the attention of the demon Korim, a warrior and an Earl of Hell, commander of demon legions and more than a match for Daniel’s strength.
In celebration of the story being released into the wild, here’s a snippet of our boys’ first meeting:
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