Starry Nights- SFR Brigade Summer Hop

June 21, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to the SFR Brigade Starry Night Blog Hop! For my part I’ve decided to share an excerpt from my WIP, an erotic space opera. I hope you enjoy reading it and have fun continuing on the hop.

From Mars, With Love

The man in black put his hand on Eli’s shoulder and pushed him forward. “Shall we transport, or do you like it here?”

Eli shrugged the hand off, or tried to. The man squeezed tighter. Eli glared at him, yanked free and moved through the shuttle bay to a newly blowtorched hole where the marines had latched one of their mobile boarding tunnels. He took the chance to look out the wide portals. Camouflaged the color of night, the marine ship was nearly invisible. He could tell it was huge, about ten times the size of the cruiser. Battleship class. He couldn’t identify the subclass. Something new and secret. Maybe that’s why the man in black was there.

Eli’s gaze drifted beyond the void created by the ship. He froze in place. An audible gasp escaped as his mouth dropped open. He couldn’t help it. Earth hung in the abyss of space, a bluish dot approaching the point where it would become just another star.

He’d resented being called a groundling, but that’s what he was. He’d never left earth, barely ever left the surface and had only seen the stars in cheap lounge holos and vids at the library. Very rarely, when the northeastern winds picked up, he’d spotted a few distant lights in the sky beyond the gleam of the domes and towers of the city. That hadn’t stopped him from dreaming of being a pilot. In fact, the distant allure of those lights had encouraged his fantasies of adventures, far above the trash heaps of home.

This was no dream. The diamond specks of distant suns filled the swoop of space. He’d never believed there were so many. All thoughts dropped away as his reality finally hit him. No ground beneath his feet, only unfathomable distance. He expected the man in black to push him again. Instead he stood behind him. Eli could feel the heat radiating off him, a palpable contrast to the stunning emptiness all around them.

“First time off planet?” the man asked.

Eli snorted derisively. “Hardly.” But he still didn’t move. Not until propelled forward by a hand on his back. The touch was gentle this time. Somewhere in the back of his brain, Eli noted this. He’d think about it when he came down off the high of the stars.

***

My Giveaway:

Because my recently released novel, Touch of Salar, is fantasy, not science fiction, I decided to giveaway a $10.00 gift certificate to my publisher, Loose Id, so that you, dear reader, could select a steamy SF novel or whatever genre of steamy you like. After the hop ends on the 25th I’ll choose a winner by drawing a random name from everyone who comments on this post. Thanks for stopping by!

SFR Contest:

Click here to enter the Grand Prize Drawing!

Continue the Hop!

Hubble Deep Space – enhanced photo from NASA

Weekend Writing Warriors #17 + Cover Reveal!

June 15, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Hello Warriors, Writers, Readers and Random Internet Browsers!

I’m super excited today because I now have the cover for Touch of Salar. Bask in the wonderfulness over there in the sidebar. The cover artist is Fiona Jayde and I think she did a fabulous job of capturing the mood and creating a striking image. (That model is pretty damn cute, I must say). To celebrate I’m sharing another snippet from Touch, this time from the point of view of The Major.

Touch of Salar

Major Jamil Jarka left the temple in a bit of a daze and walked into the heavily floral air of the surrounding gardens. He’d gone into the healing room that morning expecting nothing more than a simple massage accompanied by incense, chants, and more of the mystical folderol these monks excelled in.

He’d barely noted the young monk assigned to him for this stage of his treatment, who was allegedly one of the most gifted at Ka’alar. Jamil had already forgotten his name, but not the intense pleasure nor the pain inflicted. He’d doubted a monk’s touch could do much for him, but he was willing to try anything that would get him cleared for duty. He itched to put his skills to use in the fight against the growing southern rebellion that threatened the survival of Rakkan.

When the monk had begun his work, Jamil was surprised by the power and firmness of the fingers. The shadowy person he’d glimpsed hadn’t radiated strength, only that same damnable calmness and inscrutability required of monks everywhere.

***

In a world ruled by tyrannical kings and fickle gods, the young monk M’lan finds himself at the center of royal intrigue as his healing powers attract the attention of his superiors. When he learns the handsome warrior whose body he’s tending to is not only a noble, but a king’s assassin, any attachment to him might prove fatal. Despite the danger, he can’t stop himself from falling in love. Can he risk the abandon of passion when a slip of the tongue might force his lover to execute him?

Major Jamil Jarka comes to the temple with one intention—heal his wounds so he can return to the fight against the rebellion. When the monk assigned to him turns out to be stunningly attractive, he sees this as a pleasant distraction, no more. But soon he finds himself becoming obsessed with M’lan and is torn between the fear of betrayal and the lure of love.

Sinister forces strive to turn the monk and the warrior against each other—a conflict neither will survive if they cannot trust their lives to love and the healing power of Salar.

****

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or copy & paste this address: http://www.wewriwa.com

Weekend Writing Warriors #16

June 8, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Greetings Warriors, Writers and Readers. I’m continuing on from last week with a selection from my recently completed WIP (yeah!). To Catch a Threeve is an erotic m/m fantasy.

To Catch a Threeve

Axel rested one forearm on the pommel, closed his eyes and listened as old Talesin had taught him. Only a few moments passed before the forest creatures adjusted to his presence. A nighthawk shrieked, four-footed scavengers rustled in the low growing shrubs and night feeding swallows cut and darted in the air above him.

I know you’re still there, he thought, and sank deeper into his listening trance. Axel’s deputy, Drummond Alloway, had fallen behind at the last creek crossing, partly because his mount was not as sure of foot as Axel’s, but also because Axel wanted this time alone and had hurried his pace. Drummond’s horse now pounded along the road in the distance.

The far off creek burbled, its mineral scent rising beneath the pungent bite of ironwood pitch and moldering oak leaves. With his senses sharpened, Axel smelled his stalker before he heard him.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors #15

June 1, 2014 by Alexis Duran

And now for something completely different. In celebration of completing my current WIP, I’ve decided to post a few snippets from the first chapter. To Catch A Threeve is high fantasy, with swords, castles, witches, hunky constables, sexy thieves, and oh, yeah, threeves. Stay tuned to find out what the heck a threeve is.

To Catch a Threeve

As the crescent moon sank behind the jagged line of the Lacknor Mountains, shadows merged in the depth of the forest, smothering the last of the light. An oppressive stillness was disturbed only by the thud of hooves on a narrow dirt road. That too ended when the rider reined in his horse and waited, chin lowered to chest.

The man formed a silhouette against the shadows, draped in a black cloak and mounted on a black horse. His boots and hair were also black and his sword sheathed in black leather. If any dared draw close enough, they’d see eyes the shade of storm clouds and a gaze that pierced the dark with an uncanny light.

Constable Axel Blackwood barely breathed as he listened for signs of his stalker. Except for the heavy panting of his horse, the creak of his leather saddle and his own heartbeat, nothing out of place disturbed the quiet.

***

Goals Met, Winner Selected!

May 26, 2014 by Alexis Duran

After applying the rigorous, highly scientific method of writing out all the names of all the commenters on my HAHAT post, cutting them out, dumping the name slips into scientifically approved vessel of a hat and shaking said hat vigorously, the winner of my HAHAT prize drawing has been selected! Skeeter Lee is the lucky recipient of a $10 gift certificate to Loose Id! Also, because my goal of ten comments was easily-breezily met, I’ll be donating $25 to GLAAD! Yeah!

Thanks to the organizers of the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia. I was truly impressed by all the heartfelt, wonderfully written and powerful articles. I think the links will stay live for awhile if you’d like to go check them out. The quality of the contributors was high and has inspired me to delve deeper and reach higher next year.

The people who really need to read these articles probably won’t stop by a hop against homophobia, but I fervently hope that by banding together to share our experience, strength and hope, we’ve sent some powerful, hate-kicking love out into the universe. In recovery we say that we’re only as sick as our secrets, and society’s long attempt to deny and repress the existence of our LGBTQ citizens has done much more harm than good. Opportunities like this one to share our stories banishes the secrets, lies and shame and shows us that we are all human, all struggling, all trying to be happy and make the most of this human experience. To that I say, yeah, us! Never let your voice be silenced.

Weekend Writing Warriors #14

May 25, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Welcome warriors, writers and readers! I’m going to share one last snippet from my upcoming novel, Touch of Salar. The almost certain release date is June 17th and I hope I’ve wet your whistle enough that you’ll check it out when it’s available. Does time go into super slow-mo when you’re waiting for a book to launch? It has for me. I’m already half way through the next in the series, working title Blood of Salar and I’m so excited about it I wish both books could come out at once. Ah well, patience is a virtue, I guess.

Touch of Salar (I cut a few lines to reach a nice stopping point. If you like you can read the complete scene up to this point on my Salar page.)

The major lay down on his stomach without a word, crossed his arms above his head, and rested his face on the open frame at the top. He was tall, and he reached from one end of the table to the other. M’lan moved closer, rubbing warmed zinn bark oil onto his hands.

“With your permission,” he said as was required – all he got in return was a grunt.

After warming his hands, he placed them on the small of the man’s back. Though heavily scarred in places, the skin was smooth and hot from the sulfur bath. Electric sparks trickled up M’lan’s hands, and he nearly jumped back. He closed his eyes and let out a calming breath, feeling the rhythm of the man’s pulse beneath his palms.

***

About Touch of Salar, soon to be released by Loose Id.

Touch of Salar is a high fantasy, m/m erotic romance. In the kingdom of Rakkan, in a culture ruled by gods, mystical orders and magic, a young monk with the ability to channel the healing powers of the god Salar falls in love with a wounded warrior he knows only as The Major. Relations between the classes are forbidden, and things become even more complicated when the monk discovers that the man he is obsessed with is a king’s assassin. If M’lan is found out, he will be put to death, possibly by the Major himself.