Weekend Writing Warriors ~ A Matter of False Perspective

May 1, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hey there! Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ve hurdled another deadline and it feels great to be back. I’m continuing on with the last scene I shared, which is from Gryffon Hall, the novel I just finished. It’s an m/m fairy tale revisited, inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Wyler has just gotten an eyeful of the intimidating Lord of Gryffon Hall, Aeric Rouchet.

This picks up right after the line: The footman, who was no slight fellow, appeared diminutive next to the visitor; Rouchet could have picked him up with one hand and used him to clean the gristle from his teeth.

***

Wryler blinked and told himself this was an illusion, a matter of false perspective as Rouchet strode toward them, burgundy-colored hair blazing in the light of a hundred lanterns.

He walked right up to Wryler’s father. Wryler had a hard time not shrinking into the background.

“Greetings, Lord Glimmerveen! I thank you for your gracious invitation and apologize for our lateness. We were fallen upon by bandits on the road from Demmonvale.”

Another gasp went up from the listening crowd. Rouchet grinned and said, “Oh, it was no trouble for us to dispatch the motely crew, but it did slow us down. These two ugly brutes are my cousins, Krull of Dane’s Forge and Phynnias Ledderbrook.”

The two men stood on either side of Rouchet side, forming an impressive wall of manhood.

***

Here’s my first stab at a blurb:

Gryffon Hall

Useless fourth son of the Lord of Glimmerveen, Wryler dreams of getting married and escaping the rustic confines of his father’s castle. A wealthy merchant’s son seems to hold the key to Wryler’s safe if somewhat dreary future. However, the arrival of a mysterious stranger on the eve of Wryler’s betrothal sends his plans into disarray and Wryler finds himself traded off in marriage to one of the most notorious rogues in the land.

Is Lord Aeric Rouchet the barbarian he appears to be, or is he something much worse? Separated from his family and thrust into a strange and dangerous new life at the foreboding Gryffon Hall, Wryler must unravel the secret of his husband’s shadowed life and defeat the curse which threatens not only his growing affection for the barbarian in his bed, but the lives of everyone the Lord of Gryffon Hall is sworn to protect.

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This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight to ten sentences from a published work or perhaps 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 use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Play With My Kill

January 31, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. This is a blog hop where writers of all stripes and spots share ten line snippets from their work; published, unpublished, or fresh from their brain to your screen. I’ve been sharing from my latest release, Masters and Mages 3: Curse of Salar. This snippet picks up right after last week’s. Prince Dezra, tired of fighting against servants who don’t really try to beat him, challenged Captain Rayn Nevar to bout of shibar. Dezra is getting more than he bargained for.

***

The captain never relented in his offensive maneuvers, keeping Dezra on his heels the entire time, though Dezra did land a glancing blow or two. He was breathing hard, nearly panting, and he was soaked with sweat, but he was thrilled to be challenged and excited not to be beaten in the first thirty seconds of their match.

After barely escaping several times, Dezra gritted his teeth at the realization that Captain Nevar was holding back after all. Obviously, he couldn’t try to kill a prince, but surely he could try to win.

Dezra gained a safe distance and paused to wipe sweat from his face. “Captain Nevar, you disappoint me.”

“Have I mussed you, Prince?” Nevar said in a highly disrespectful manner, a twinkle in his formerly hard eyes.

“On the contrary. I don’t believe you’re doing your best to beat me.”

“I like to play with my kill before I eat it,” Nevar said, his grin turning vicious.

***

In the desert kingdom of Jahar, the rule of mages has been overthrown and the line of sorcerer kings wiped out. Prince Dezra and his sister are the last living members of the royal family and are held prisoners in their ancestral palace.

Prince Dezra lives a life of lies and deceit. In order to stay alive, he must pretend to be a drug-addicted wastrel, trusting no one, isolated from even his sister who has chosen to cooperate with the government that executed their parents.

Into his lonely existence comes a man who should be his sworn enemy; Captain Rayn Nevar. Dezra is irresistibly drawn to the rough soldier and his longing for a simple sexual encounter quickly morphs into a dangerous obsession.

Captain Rayn Nevar knows he should stay far away from Prince Dezra, but his desire for the beautiful young man overrides all common sense. Despite the fact that Dezra’s ancestors destroyed Rayn’s family, the captain finds himself in a position of protecting the prince from the many schemers who believe the last of the mages should be annihilated.

When treachery leads to Dezra’s escape, he is at last free to bond with the serpent god Ka’alar and develop his long repressed powers. Only the arrival of a mysterious monk with powers greater than Dezra’s stops the prince from using black sorcery to destroy all who stand in his way, including Rayn.

As Jahar edges toward another war between masters and mages, Rayn must question his devotion to his increasingly deadly lover while Dezra must decide if ultimate power is worth the ultimate sacrifice.

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My Sexy Saturday ~ Matthias

January 16, 2016 by Alexis Duran

It’s My Sexy Saturday time again! The theme this week is Our Sexy Boy (or Girl) and I’ve decided to share seven paragraphs from my work in progress, code name Matthias. In this scene, Dylan, a reporter who’s trying to get the dirt on the successful and reclusive Matthias Krall, meets him face to face for the first time since they were in college together, ten years earlier. He’s been chatting with one of Matthias’ handsome minions, Terrance, who was in the process of hitting on Dylan.

***

Dylan looked away, fiddling with his glass again, thumbing away the condensation, wondering how to steer the conversation back to safer water. He was saved by the soft swoosh of the door opening.

He almost dropped the glass when none other than Matthias Krall walked in, casually dressed in black jeans and soft-looking black shirt. Terrance sprang to his feet and moved around the table, hands out.

“Matthias.” His grin could have lit up Safeco field all on its own.

“Terrance.” Matthias’s smile wasn’t near the wattage of Terrance’s, but the look in his eye was one of extreme pleasure. He took Terrance’s hands into his own. “Good to see you.”

Damn, his words carried weight. What might have been a throw away greeting from anyone else sounded like divine absolution on Matthias’ lips. Dylan felt invisible as the two men shared some sort of silent bond. Terrance was dead wrong about that. Matthias did believe in emotional bondage, only to him alone.

Dylan took a quick gulp of water, grateful for the respite that gave him a chance to absorb Matthias’ presence before having to interact with him. Matthias was, of course, handsome beyond reason, the years having refined and chiseled his aristocratic features rather than soften them. His crystal blue eyes sparkled like sapphires, set off by his dark complexion and raven black hair. He was as lean and powerful looking as ever, maybe more so. His jeans fit perfectly. He’d rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing a thin copper bracelet on each wrist. Dylan was a sucker for bling that accentuated the elegant lines of the masculine form.

He swallowed hard and worked on crafting the neutral, slightly wide-eyed and innocent expression that had served him so well in the past. People were only too willing to believe a certain dullness on the part of a too-pretty writer, as Dylan had been called more often than he cared to recall. But would Matthias believe it?

***

Don’t forget to continue the hop at My Sexy Saturday, where a great group of writers share sexy, sweet, steamy snippets in seven words, sentences or paragraphs.

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Sacrificial Opponent

December 13, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a bunch of really awesome writers share ten sentence snippets from their work. This week I’m sharing from my upcoming release Masters and Mages 3: Curse of Salar.

This snippet is from one of my favorite scenes, where Prince Dezra finally meets his match on the shibar field. (A shibar is a 5-6 ft pole with bronze blades on each end. In this case the blades are dulled so as not to risk injuring the prince.)

***

Dezra drank the cool water offered to him and considered who his next sacrificial opponent would be. Perhaps Lanz himself. Now that Dezra had worked his edge off, he could focus on technique against his teacher.

He inspected the line of onlookers, wondering if any of the visiting attendants or military personnel might appreciate a chance to brush up their skills. Only those with the highest clearance were allowed anywhere near him, and so those present probably didn’t partake in the lowly game of shibar, a foot soldier’s weapon.

He wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and was about to call for Lanz when a new figure stepped out of the shadows of the columns with a shibar in his hands. It was Captain Nevar. Dezra’s eyes narrowed to slits against the sun. Perhaps he was hallucinating. The guards stopped Nevar immediately.

***

Blurb for Masters and Mages 3: Curse of Salar ~ Release date January 5,2016

In the desert kingdom of Jahar, the rule of mages has been overthrown and the ancient lineage of sorcerer kings wiped out. Prince Dezra and his sister are the last living members of the royal family and are held prisoners in their ancestral palace.

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Never Saw Him

December 6, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another exciting edition of Weekend Writing Warriors. Well, I was supposed to start on the promo for my release coming up in January, but then I realized I was ONE snippet away from finishing Chapter 2 of From Mars, With Love. I know, it seems like we should be much farther along, but at ten sentences a pop, it takes a while.

Last week Eli finally found out he’s not being returned to Earth by his rescuers, but dumped at the unwelcoming outpost on Mars, which was definitely not on his to-visit list.

***

The man in black still stood there, pausing as if mildly interested in Eli’s plight. He shrugged and nearly smiled.

“Good luck with that,” he said, and sauntered past. Eli stared after him, taking deep breaths and calming himself before he said something unfortunate to the well-armed marine.

“Who is that, anyway?” he asked her.

“You never saw him,” she said, looking at Eli with a stern, don’t-mess-with-me expression. “I mean it, you never saw him, ’cause if you did, you might require a memory sweep, got it?”

“Never saw who?” Never saw him. As if Eli could ever erase the memory of those luminous blue-eyes.

***

How is it I’ve managed to overlook this motherlode of hunky space guys with guns? SG-Universe – my kind of show.

From Mars, With Love follows the adventures of Eli and his pal Rilke, two down-and-out scavengers from earth as they’re abducted by slavers, arrested by space marines, and dumped on an unwelcoming outpost on Mars. Eli’s troubles are only beginning when he finds out the ring his mother gave him contains the life force of a powerful but dormant alien and the mysterious man he has a huge crush on happens to be an alien artifact smuggler. Eli’s just trying to make it on Mars, but can he survive the dangerous political intrigue swirling around him? This erotic space opera is a work-in-progress. Stay tuned to this blog for ongoing excerpts and updates.

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My Sexy Saturday ~ Human Warmth

December 5, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of My Sexy Saturday. This week we’re exploring My Sexy Galaxy, which is right up my space port. I do love my sci-fi. These seven paragraphs are from an unpublished novella temporarily titled Machine in the Ghost. Ezra is a “linker”, a geek with the ability to communicate with alien technology, and Lann is a marine on the space station where they both work. Lann has a crush on Ezra, but the serious-minded linker has never responded. Until now.

***

Ezra picked up his drink and downed it in one shot. He put the glass down and said, “That’s very good.”

“Another?”

“Not yet.” He leaned forward and it took all of Lann’s control not to lean in as well. “I wanted to thank you for saving my life today.”

“What? I didn’t. The med-bot did the saving. I just called it.”

“You don’t understand. You pulled me out of the abyss, with this.” Ezra reached out and grasped Lann’s hand. “Human warmth.” He looked at Lann’s hand like he’d never held one before. Hell, maybe he hadn’t. Ezra was so shut off, so closed down, he might even be a virgin. Lann’s heart skipped a beat at the thought. He looked around and spotted ZJ and Burn staring at them with mouths open. Lann gave them an evil glare and they pretended to peruse the menu of new earth-inspired drinks.

Lann took a deep breath and turned back to Ezra. “Are you on a whole lot of drugs, Eleven?”

Ezra continued to toy with Lann’s fingers. “You’re wondering about the change in me.”

***

Don’t forget to continue the Sexy Saturday hop. There’s a lot of sexy snippets out there for your enjoyment, only a click away.