My Sexy Saturday ~ And Who Are You Exactly?

February 7, 2015 by Alexis Duran

When I read the theme for this week’s My Sexy Saturday blog hop, which is My Sexy First Date, it quickly dawned on me that my characters never go on dates. Maybe that’s because I write mostly fantasy so normal activities like dating never seem to fit into the plot. Or maybe my characters are too weird and conflicted to actually ask someone out on a date. Or maybe it’s because I love the enemies to lovers trope so much they’re usually too busy fighting and scheming to sit down and have a glass of wine with each other. So this week’s seven paragraphs, which isn’t actually a date, is about as close as I’ve gotten to writing one. This is the first time Ian and Zeke meet face to face, and it happens in a coffeeshop, so its kinda sorta like a date (OK, not really). I posted from this scene out of Dark Heart a few Saturdays back, so click here if you want to catch up. Zeke, by the way, is a dark elf who’s courting Ian. Ian has yet to discover his true nature. He speaks first.

***

“And who are you exactly? What are you?” Ian tried to pull his hand away. The elf clamped down harder. Actual physical contact sent shockwaves rippling beneath Ian’s skin.

“My name is Ezekiel. I am what you in your human ignorance might call an elf.”

“A dark elf? A svarta?” Ian asked. Ezekiel shook his head.

“Those distinctions have long since passed away and become meaningless. There is only magic and not magic. The people who surround you are not magic.”

“I don’t know about that. Cleona managed to ward off your hex last night.”

“A pity. She’s a spell spinner who steals her power. She’s drained you dry, but I could refill you.” He lifted Ian’s hand and kissed it. He nibbled on the knuckles and ran his tongue along the fingers. Ian nearly came then and there, but willed himself to resist.

“Forget it. I don’t believe you. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

***

Would this guy make a great dark elf or what?

Don’t forget to visit the other writers participating in this week’s hop– wether it’s seven words, seven sentences or seven paragraphs, it’s all sexy, it’s all fun and it’s all free!

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Far Away and Dangerous

February 1, 2015 by Alexis Duran

It’s Sunday again already? Wow. Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where we writers emerge from our bat caves to share the spoils of our toils. I’m feeling a little giddy because I just finished a grueling four day editing session and now I get to play in Space Opera world again. Continuing with one of my current WIPs, From Mars, With Love, I jump ahead a bit, bypassing the part where Eli ruminates about how Earth wasn’t that great anyway.

***

In spite of the dismal circumstances, Eli smiled. Maybe this was upward mobility at last, if he could just figure out how to avoid the whole slave thing. He relaxed and had almost dozed off when suddenly the shuttle took another vomit-dive on the space-o-coaster. They were fast approaching inter-planetary launch. Where were they going – Titan? The habitat on Saturn’s largest moon was notorious for its defiance of the Fair Market ban on slavery. Titan was where the rich went to get all their kinkiest desires catered to, according to the gossip in the trash heaps of earth. He hoped that wasn’t where they were going- it seemed unimaginably far away and dangerous.

While looking for photos of hunky space guys with guns, I found this and decided to celebrate the love in From Mars, With Love. Back to guns next week.

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight 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 ~ Good-bye Earth

January 25, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to another episode of Weekend Writing Warriors. I’m up to my eyeballs in edits, so I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that I’m continuing with my space opera in progress, From Mars, With Love. I’ve jumped ahead a bit. Eli has yet to come up with a plan to escape from a ship in space, so he has some time to reflect.

***

Eli had harbored a deep and stupid desire to be a pilot ever since he’d first seen a Lunar Freighter launch out of Manhattan Harbor. The sight had made him aware of the limitless possibilities of space half a second before he realized a dump rat like himself had zero chance of making it onto the crew of a space ship, much less piloting one. He found it grimly amusing that his one shot at traveling beyond Earth came from being slave fodder.

Space travel turned out to be less enjoyable than he’d imagined. As soon as the shuttle docked the Cruiser dropped away from the gravity well of the huge sweeping vessel and they freefell into clear space. His stomach tried to crawl out of his ears and his blood didn’t know which way to flow. Then the thrusters kicked in and they got pressed down like grass under a boot and off they went into pre-sling launch mode. Eli said a mental goodbye to his mate Rilke and wondered if he’d ever see him or Earth again.

***

So I’d thought I’d change things up and post a photo of guy with sword instead of a pew-pew gun. Flash!

Weekend Writing Warriors- Hair-Brained Schemes

January 18, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors– the hop where awesome, fearless writers take on the world of their imaginations, eight lines at a time. I’m going to keep going with my Space Opera in-progress, From Mars, With Love for a few more weeks. Last week Eli decided being a sex slave (or any kind of slave, for that matter) wasn’t on his bucket list, so he desperately started thinking on how to escape the transfer shuttle. One of his fellow abductees in an altered human called a Moon Unit in Earth slang.

***

The Moon Unit glared at Eli with an almost imperceptible shake of her head and looked away. Did she know what he was thinking? One could never be sure with Altereds how empathic or telepathic they might be.

Moon Units were the oldest of the Altereds, their mutations dating back to the earliest colonization of Earth’s Moon, when budgets and technology were strained. The Lunar Laborers were engineered to fit into compact tunnels, their skin smooth and plasticized to protect them from harsh environmental conditions. They evolved to be strong, dense and flexible, taking advantage of the scant gravity while not being susceptible to bone loss. Despite her apparent hostility Eli tried to take a seat beside her on the long metal bench that lined the shuttle but a dumb-bot guard grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, shoved him into a seat and drew down a locking bar as if they were going for a ride on a roller coaster.

Everybody got locked down the same way and Eli had more time to fume and plot then he would’ve liked – hair-brained schemes suffered from overthinking.

***

Hot guys with pew-pew guns, a glimpse of silver bikini in the background- is it any wonder my imagination is so warped? (Chekov was my favorite).

My Sexy Saturday ~ Evil Elf Visits Starbucks

January 17, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another sizzling episode of My Sexy Saturday. The theme this week is “I’m so sexy”, in which we get to introduce those characters who are hot, hot, hot and probably know it. My sexy character, Zeke the elf with evil intentions, definitely knows it. I’m sharing seven paragraphs from my contemporary m/m fantasy, Dark Heart. Not yet published but hopefully (fingers crossed) soon to see the light of day.

***

The door opened, a gust of wet wind blew in, and time stopped. Ezekiel stood in front of the door as it closed. He’d changed his clothes. He wore jeans and a close-fitting black leather jacket. Unlike the musketeer coat, it showed off his slim waist as well as his broad shoulders. His black silk shirt was open at the neck. Sunglasses hid the magical eyes, but there was no mistaking the evil elf.

He scanned the shop a bit then walked straight for Ian’s table. He stopped so close Ian could smell the salt air and deep woods piney scent wafting off his skin, like he’d taken a bath in the ocean and toweled off with cedar bark. His hair looked shorter, or more styled, with the bangs hitting the high line of his cheekbone, the back brushing the collar of his jacket.

“Good afternoon. Mind if join you?” he asked in soft, melodious voice.

“Yes, I do. Go away.” Ian looked around. Everyone else was oblivious to the dark elf in their midst. They tapped on phones, stared at computers, rustled papers. Dijeree and the barista laughed. Ezekiel sat down directly across from Ian. He pushed his glasses back into his hair, unveiling the eyes.

“Why do you resist me, Ian?” he said. He grabbed one of Ian’s hands from the table before Ian could snatch it away.

“Because I . . . you . . . you want to kill me.”

The elf laughed. It was a warm, friendly sound. His eyes gleamed under the fluorescent lights and shifted colors – blue, grey, silver. He turned Ian’s hand over, smoothed out the clenched fingers and ran a finger along his palm. “I do not want to kill you. I want to take you away from this ordinary, depleted life. I want to make love to you. I want to fuck you until you can’t walk straight.”

***

Time for another play date with the writers of My Sexy Saturday. Wether you’re a reader, writer or both, there’s plenty of steamy fun to be had by clicking the link and checking out the amazing selection of excerpts. Writers of sizzling hot fiction will share either 7 words, 7 lines or 7 paragraphs from one of their works.

Weekend Writing Warriors~ Moon Unit

January 11, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. I’m continuing with my Space Opera in progress, From Mars, With Love. It’s such a kick to write, all fiction should be this much fun. Last week poor Eli was separated from his pal Rilke after they’d both gotten nabbed by slavers. Eli’s not taking the unfortunate career change well.

***

Anger rose in Eli’s throat like bile. Too bad it was way too late to complain to his congressman about the crass slaving violations of the sweepers. A feeling of deep-seated rebellion swelled in his bones. He set his jaw and considered escape. Escaping in deep space was useless so if he were going to do something, he’d have to do it fast. He examined his fellow future sex slaves for likely compatriots in a reckless and doomed attempt to scuttle the shuttle. An obsidian-skinned Moon Unit by his side looked too fast to be true and he thought she’d make an excellent recruit for any plot. He stared at her until eye contact was made.

Anyone else have a crush on Buck Rogers/Gil Gerard back in the day?

***

If you’re cruising for bigger bites of fiction or you’re suffering from a post-Christmas funk, I’ve posted two holiday stories on this blog; The Wrong Elf Flash Version and The Longest Night featuring Axel and Liam from To Catch A Threeve. Enjoy!