(Continuing the weekly serial by Cecilia Tan! Need to start at the beginning? Click here.)
Part 34: Jorin
There was a moment, one morning, when I was half-asleep still, when I believed that everything that had happened had been an awful nightmare, and that the man in my arms was Kenet. I could taste the back of his neck where my nose was buried, and hear the frits on the balcony, and I thought, what a terrible dream that had been and thank the sky above that all was well.
I slid my hand down his body to seek his cock, to bring him to full hardness before he could wake. As I did, though, I felt a sudden ache inside me, a sudden need for him. I gasped and jerked and that woke him.
Kan. He chuckled. “Good morning, lover.”
“G-good morning…”
He turned to look at me, his brows knit with concern. “Are you well, Jorin?”
“I’m not sure.” Continue reading →
More award news? Yes.
So, the book of lesbian vampire erotica I edited, WOMEN OF THE BITE, which was done in ebook by Ravenous Romance and in print form by Alyson Books, is a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award! And a book I have a story in, Lesbian Cowboys (edited by Sacchi Green and Rakelle Valencia) is also nominated in the same category! (Lesbian Erotica)
This is pretty cool, after a fair stretch where I didn’t have any Lammy noms for a number of years. Lambda has undergone a lot of changes in recent years–I’m not even up to speed on all of them. They seem very revitalized, though. This is happy making.
Now if I could just get them to correct the spelling of my name on the nomination announcement, that would be keen. (I’ve already seen it re-posted four places with the wrong spelling. Sigh.)
The other thing is that the awards ceremony is on May 27th, a Thursday night, in New York City. I’m supposed to be in Madison, Wisconsin that night for the annual feminist science fiction convention, Wiscon.Continue reading →
Three BDSM books I recommend
It was recently announced that the finalists for the NLA‘s Geoff Mains Non-fiction Book Award for 2009 are:
- Lee Harrington, Sacred Kink: The Eightfold Paths of BDSM and Beyond (lulu.com)
- david stein with David Schacter, Ask the Man Who Owns Him: The Real Lives of Gay Masters and slaves (Perfectbound Press)
- Two Knotty Boys, Two Knotty Boys Back on the Ropes (Green Candy)
I am a judge in the NLA: International writing awards this year, judging the Geoff Mains Non-fiction Book Award. And with books this good, it’s a tough decision.
All three finalists are books that I would encourage any active BDSM practitioner (even if you are active only in your fantasies) to go out and buy. Picking a single winner is difficult when there are such high quality books of depth and importance. The three finalists each are quite distinct. One is largely a hands-on how-to, one presents an incredible look at others, and one demands that we look at ourselves.
Herewith, a more detailed review of each of the three: Continue reading →
A tree fell on my house.
Ouch. So, last night at about 5 am I wrapped up what I was writing. The wind and rain had been a gale all day and night, with branches knocking against the house and so forth. The tall pine tree in my neighbor’s front yard, the one which is pretty much between our two houses (which are only a few yards apart) goes up about ten feet and then splits into multiple trunks. In the heavy wet snowstorm a few weeks ago, the trunk on her side cracked and broke, and the tree has been leaning on her roof ever since.
As I got ready to go to bed, I typed into my Twitter feed/Facebook status: “Going to unplug laptop and bring it in the bedroom with me. Paranoid that the broken tree next to the house is going to crash into my office.”
I unplugged the computer and stood up, and then CRASH! The trunk on our side cracked and the house shook as the bole came down with a whump against the corner of the roof right where I was standing.
Fortunately it was a relatively gentle bump, no windows broke, and as far as I can tell, there’s no leaking or anything. I still ran into the bedroom and typed: “holy shit! No sooner did I type that when the tree fell on the house!!! So far no damage on the INSIDE, but from the skylight I can see it!”
and: “My hands are shaking. But everything’s OK here. I hope. If roof is damaged, it’s not leaking visibly. And I’m not hurt, just freaked!!!”
Today the rain slowed down enough that I went out with a camera and umbrella and took photos. Here you go:
Continue reading →
The Prince's Boy: 33
(Continuing the weekly serial by Cecilia Tan! Need to start at the beginning? Click here.)
Part 33: Kenet
I played the part of Roichal’s page for a few more days, as he and the field marshal checked over what seemed to me to be the entire army. One morning, though, Roichal’s leg was so stiff, he could not mount his horse, and no amount of cursing and railing (and it was quite an amount, let me assure you) would change that. Marksin eventually forced him to lie back down and then went away, returning quickly with a jar which he thrust into my hands. “Go on. This will help him,” was all he said, and then he hurried off, to make the inspections himself, I supposed.
Roichal actually uttered a moan then, the first sound of discomfort I could recall him making. He must have been in great pain. I hurried to kneel next to the pallet and show him the jar.
He clucked his tongue. “This salve is strong stuff, Page, but there is nothing else for it. Give it here.”
He took the jar from me and I surrendered it, but part of me wanted to hold onto it. Hadn’t the general said when I’d first arrived that he would teach me to rub his leg or some such? It wasn’t his ‘third leg’ he’d been referring to, that much I was sure. He still had not made any move toward me sexually, unless one counted him putting me and Marksin together.
He seemed neither the type to condemn a man for desiring a man, given his charity toward his field marshal, nor sickened by the thought, as I knew some men were. Perhaps he simply did not desire me? He slept with me held close every night, though.
Continue reading →
Print Editions of Magic U, Mind Games, & more!
Super Awesome News!
So it looks like maybe this is a perfect marriage: ebook publisher Ravenous Romance and print book publisher of non-fiction occult books Red Wheel/Weiser are getting together, and they are hatching a new imprint called Red Silk Editions.
Red Wheel/Weiser is one of the leading publishers of books on tarot, occult, New Age, and pagan non-fiction, but they have heard that romance is big, and paranormal romance in particular seems like a keen fit for their audience. They’ve bought the print rights to a package of Ravenous Romance paranormal ebooks and plan to bring them to bookstores starting in June 2010 at a rate of two per month.
Among the books that will be hitting shelves as Red Silk Edition are four of mine. Bites of Passion, one of the erotic vampire anthologies I edited, will be among the first. Mind Games, the paranormal psychic thriller I wrote will be in there, too.
And, in what is probably the best fit for the Red Wheel/Weiser audience of all, Magic University will be coming, as well!
Ravenous posted a press release about the deal today at their blog. Angela Cameron, Isabel Roman, and Rhonda Leigh Jones also have books slated for Red Silk Editions.
This is, to say the least, really really exciting news. I love ebooks and the online communities… but the majority of book readers and buyers are still shopping in brick and mortar stores, and so the chance to have those editions too is awesome.
Next question… will my mom, who does read a lot of Nora Roberts, like them?
Blinded By The Light
A lot of the time when I play, it’s like my brain shuts off. Later, I kind of wake up in the middle of a song and I can remember everything that has been going on, but it’s almost like someone else was doing it. I don’t realize it when I’m slipping into that state, but when I come up sometimes it’s a cold shock and I hate it. This rehearsal was a lot like that. We got grooving right away, everything so bright and real while it went on, but then I was coming up to a solo, and there was Ziggy with this crazy maniac’s grin on his face, like he was waiting for me to deliver the note that would drive him over the edge, and as I started that first pick up note, I came to. I was walking toward him at the time, like I was going to do something, but what I don’t know since suddenly real life flooded back and I not only flubbed the note, I physically stumbled.
I went down on one knee and kept my eyes on the ground. Bart had stopped playing but the drum machine droned on. Ziggy took a step toward me — are you okay? –but I pulled away, getting to my feet and stamping on the pedal that shut the drum machine up. It was quiet now, but my head continued to pound. The other two were staring at me.
Read the rest over at Daron’s Guitar Chronicles.
More squee
I promise one of these days I’ll stop squeeing about reviews. But NOT YET!! Book Wenches, who reviewed book one of my Magic U series, has now done a review of book two in the series, also! And loved it, too! Yesss!!
prime quote: “The second installation in the Magic University series was just as interesting as the first. I would even say that it was actually more enjoyable than the first.”
and
“Kyle’s character evolves in this book and makes him even more memorable. His newfound abilities are more than interesting. His relationships are complex as are his sexual magical studies. This is not your typical magic book.”
The review in its entirety can be found here:
https://www.bookwenches.com/march10reviews.htm
Wheeee!!! Rose and Bay Awards announced!
WE WON! Yes, Daron’s Guitar Chronicles has won the 2010 Rose and Bay Award for crowdfunded fiction, and I say WE won because it’s not just me but the community of readers who voted for the project and who are a part of it who won.
I’m humbled to realize that means DGC outpaced some much better known projects (like Shadow Unit) and some more critically lauded writers than me who are also no slouches when it comes to social networking.
The support means a lot to me, and by support here I mean your enthusiasm for the project. Love and validation are more important to my muse than money (although money is nice, too).
There’s lots more to come in the Chronicles. The tension between Daron and Ziggy is just starting to ratchet up. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Squeeing time!!
Book Wenches reviewed Magic University, Book One: The Siren and the Sword and loved it! 4.5 stars!
Some choice quotes:
“I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. Initially it put me in a Harry Potter frame of mind . . . until the sex started.”
“The characters are interesting with a depth that makes them memorable. I enjoyed the secondary characters almost as much as the main characters.”
“Ms. Tan has done an outstanding job of feeding my Harry Potter obsession in a very adult fashion.”
The reviewer also thought my magic was innovative and liked the storyline. Bwaaaa! *runs around the office like a maniac*
You know, reviews of my literary books never made me half this gleeful…
The entire review is here: https://www.bookwenches.com/february10reviews.htm