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.

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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

From The Nightstand ~ Hitting Black Ice

January 21, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Today I’m excited to have Heloise West here to talk about her new release, Hitting Black Ice. I’ve been looking forward to reading a novel by Heloise, having been a fan of the fiction excerpts she posts on her blog, Velvet Panic. When the excerpt is never long enough, you know you’ve found your next favorite writer!

Heloise tells us about her inspiration for the book, followed by a delightful, much too short excerpt:

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Alexis asked me what inspired my story “Hitting Black Ice.” Here’s my attempt at an answer 😀

I love mysteries and suspense, romantic or otherwise, and I knew I needed to work on a contemporary story to offset the historical mystery romance I was struggling with at the time.

It’s a little like putting a soup or stew together at first. Or a sketch that needs to be developed because you’ve fallen in love with a line or a shape, a color. I honestly can’t remember who said a story is a juxtaposition of two ideas, but I find that very true. I have to fall in love with that place of juxtaposition first in order to be inspired. I had a winter setting in mind and a character who was trying to talk another out of suicide. I like darker stories, and stories of redemption, so their journey together became important. One of them was on the run from something and living in terror of discovery. The other character had resources. But I needed another layer, the juxtaposition, and that became Nick, the evil FBI agent. I really liked the idea of turning the Romance trope of the enigmatic law enforcement alpha male character on its head.

The story gave me fits, and I abandoned it once or twice, and worked on the historical until that story needed me to step away from it. A glimmer of potential always remains beneath that stagnant pond when the words dry up or I’ve written myself into a corner.

It’s funny how after awhile, the story itself becomes the inspiration to continue writing it.

***

Excerpt:

Hunter opened red wine instead of whiskey and was savoring the first sip when the cell phone dinged with a text message.

Hunter? It’s Shawn.

His heart leaped into his throat. Ok.

“You brilliant asshole,” he told himself, thumbs twitching over the keypad.

U home?

Y. wru?

*$.

The Starbucks across the damn street? U ok?

Y. U want anything? Biscotti? Muffin?

Get up here, muffin man.

He waited a heartbeat.

OK!

Fuck, the bed still needed making. Hunter raced into the bedroom, threw sheets and blankets back together, and shoved the body pillow in the space between the bed and the wall. The building buzzer went off. He ran into the living room to answer it and slid in his socks on the hardwood, nearly going down. He limped to the bathroom, combed his hair, washed his face, and sniffed his armpits. He swished cinnamon mouthwash around and managed to spit it out without dribbling on himself. Off came the pajama bottoms. He jumped into the tightest jeans he owned and changed the rumpled sleep T-shirt for a fresh one.

“Get hold of yourself, boy,” he said to the man in the mirror. “It’s not effing prom night.”

He tucked the T-shirt in, trying not to catch his swooning cock in the zipper as the door buzzer went off. He stood in front of the door, counted to three, and jumped when it buzzed again with his hand still on the knob. He yanked the door open.

Shawn stood on the threshold in a black leather jacket, holding a cardboard box with two coffees and a bag of cookies or muffins or damn biscotti perched on top. His eyes were light with hope, though his smile was tentative and sweetly unsure.

***

Blurb:

ER physician’s assistant Hunter guards his heart carefully, but that doesn’t stop him from falling for Shawn, the front desk clerk. He keeps his distance from relationships for a reason, but just can’t help himself when it comes to Shawn.

Shawn is on the run from the law and love to protect himself and anyone else involved. One man is dead because of him, and his life now is simple and easily thrown into a bag at any hint of danger. Until he meets Hunter, and he no longer wants to run.

Forced into a hostage situation, buried passion explodes in the aftermath, and sex in the supply closet brings their hearts back to life. Tentatively, step by step, they begin to explore a relationship together until the past catches up with Shawn.

FBI agent Nick Truman has finally found his man, but when Shawn escapes, he focuses his attention on Hunter. Shawn returns, even though it means sacrificing himself to save Hunter from the man who framed him for murder.

Title: Hitting Black Ice

Author: Heloise West

Publisher: Loose Id

Publication date: December 2, 2014

Word count: 75,000

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23644828-hitting-black-ice

Bio:

Heloise West, when not hunched over the keyboard plotting love and mayhem, dreams about moving to a villa in Tuscany. She loves history, mysteries, and romance of all flavors. She travels and gardens with her partner of 10 years, and their home overflows with books, cats, art, and red wine.

Social Media:

heloisewest@hotmail.com

https://twitter.com/velvetpanic

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23644828-hitting-black-ice

https://www.facebook.com/heloise.west.1

http://velvetpanic2.wordpress.com/

Buy Links:

http://www.loose-id.com/hitting-black-ice.html

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hittingblackice-1689874-340.html

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ From Mars, With Love

January 4, 2015 by Alexis Duran

New year, new story. Well, new to Weekend Writing Warriors, anyway. This crazy, free-wheeling Space Opera is next on my To Finish and Submit list. The snippet is from Chapter Two, after Eli and his pal Rilke have been most inconveniently snatched by slave sweepers while scavenging in Old York.

***

From Mars, With Love

Eli maintained his cool through the whole abducted, locked in a giant dustbin, hurled into space thing until the sex swappers arrived on the scene and he got yanked out of line. Watching Rilke dissolve into a puddle of tears broke Eli’s heart, which wasn’t an easy thing to do after the life he’d led. For the first time his survival instincts failed him and he made a futile attempt to wriggle out of a slaver’s metal grasp, if only to say a proper good-bye. This earned him a sharp jab with some sort of stun gun and he made the rest of the trip to the transfer shuttle in a numbed-out, wobbly state.

By the time the doors of the holding pen hissed shut behind them, he’d regained his right mind and returned his thoughts to practical matters, because getting sold into an unlicensed spaceport sex market was just about the unhealthiest thing that could befall a person. He figured his luck was spent and he’d better start getting resourceful fast. Without his other half, the super smart half-Martian Rilke, he’d be flying on one wing and knew it. Through a narrow viewing portal he watched the huge sweeper recede into the distance and his mood blackened.

han-solo-star-wars-1977-1983-_129980-fli_1363014959

Because I can, that’s why.

***

If you’re cruising for bigger bites of fiction, 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!

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Weekend Writing Warriors #19

July 6, 2014 by Alexis Duran

Hello everyone. I hope you had an enjoyable Independence Day, and if you have a freaked-out-by-fireworks dog like I do, I hope it was relatively peaceful and that all your furry friends made it through without too much trauma. My neighborhood was surprisingly quiet this year. I usually do a movie marathon while holding my dog’s paw, but I fell asleep early catching up on the last season of Castle. Have I mentioned how much I love Nathan Fillion? Anyway, it’s a lovely day for a blog hop, so don’t forget to check out all the amazing stories being spun over on the WWW website.

May we all look this hot while writing.

I’m continuing with my recently completed m/m erotic high fantasy fun in the forest magical romp with witches, threeves and hunky guys with swords.

To Catch A Threeve (Constable Axel Blackwood and his deputy, Drummond Alloway, are journeying by horseback through the deep forest)

Axel wasn’t surprised someone discovered his mission. The castle at Breckenride was as thick with gossiping, plotting knaves as any backwoods tavern, and despite the caution taken by Lady Lysette word must have leaked out. He’d warned her transporting the gem would be dangerous and a convoy might be better for the job than one constable and a hired sword, but she’d insisted she wanted to draw no attention to the removal of the gem from the castle.

Attention had been drawn, and Axel had every intention of finding out who in the castle had set a thief after them. He’d take the sneak alive and whip the truth out of him.

The jingle of tack and a stream of curses alerted him to Drummond’s imminent arrival. He hadn’t yet told his deputy about their stalker. He didn’t want anything to alert the would-be thief that his presence was known.

***

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 #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.

Weekend Writing Warriors #4

February 16, 2014 by Alexis Duran

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. Click the link above or copy & paste this address: www.wewriwa.com

(If you’re interested in reading what’s come before, Salar excerpts are collected in the Weekend Warriors Snippets category in the sidebar.)

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Curse of Salar

Timon was allowed to leave the palace to visit his dying father and had been gone for half a moon. Mira was glad to see him but would never show any glimmer of what might be seen as special affection. Any servant who displayed too much loyalty to him was sent away on some pretext or other, and Mira had been afraid that the story of the dying father had been one of these excuses. He knew Timon was fond of him, and he also knew that he diligently reported everything Mira said or did to the premier’s watchers. He couldn’t blame him, that’s what he was brought to the palace to do. The premier recruited servants from other kingdoms or from the rebel states, who had no loyalty to the royal family or any lingering superstitions regarding the divinity of Mira and Alandra.

“How’s your father?” Mira asked without preamble.

“Gone up the mountain to dance with the spirits,” Timon said, bowing slightly.

***

Curse of Salar is an m/m erotic fantasy novella, third in a series set in the world of Salar. Prince Mira, along with his sister, is the last in the royal line of Jahar, a ruling family of powerful magicians. Mira and Alandra are held as virtual captives in their family’s own palace, kept alive to placate the masses of peasants who are traditional royalists and still believe in the fabled powers of the Jahar. Mira chafes under confinement and dreams of escaping. Rayn Matisse is a soldier in the rebel army. He has no interest whatsoever in seeing the royals reinstated until he meets Mira and begins to fall under the prince’s magical sway. Rayn’s people were cursed by the Jahar centuries ago, and though long thought to be a myth, the curse begins to assert its powers once again. As assassination and rebellion upset the false calm of the kingdom, Rayn finds himself torn between love and fear of the young man who possesses an uncanny ability to control him.