Felicity Heaton Visits Again!

Thank you for having me here again at your blog, Will! This time, I’m here to share an excerpt from my new release, Kissed by a Dark Prince, which is the first book in my hot new paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates.

Kissed by a Dark Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 1)
Felicity Heaton
Olivia thinks it’s her lucky night when a dangerously handsome unconscious fae ends up on her inspection table. He’s her chance to redeem herself with her employer, the demon-hunting organisation, Archangel. But when the tall, dark and deadly immortal warrior awakes, she gets much more than she bargained for…

Attacked by his enemy in the elf kingdom, the last thing Prince Loren expects when he comes around is a beautiful angel watching over him and medical technology of the mortal realm. Hazy from his injuries, all he can focus on is the pulse ticking in her throat and the sweet allure of her blood.

One single bite reveals she is his eternal mate, triggering a bond between them that will leave him weakened until it is completed… or broken, and pulling Olivia into the crossfire of his ancient feud.

To protect his people and his mate from the machinations of a madman, Loren must risk everything by working with Olivia at Archangel to find a way to break the bond blossoming between them.

But will Loren be strong enough to place duty before desire and give up the one thing he has waited millennia for and craves above all others—his eternal mate? And will Olivia be able to resist the incredible heat that burns between them and the temptation of her dark prince’s kiss?

Kissed by a Dark Prince is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/kbadp

Kissed by a Dark Prince – Excerpt

“Specimen appears to have advanced healing ability. Age of blood around the wounds is indicative of a recent injury, but the wounds in question are already closed and beginning to scab over.” Many demon and fae species had heightened healing. He could be any number of them. Olivia carefully pulled his upper lip back and studied his teeth. “No fangs. Canines appear normal.”

She drew back and something caught her eye. She parted the wild strands of his short black hair and traced the pointed tip of his ear. Was he a demon? They had pointed ears.

Olivia hovered over him, looking down at his handsome bloodstained face. She had never seen a demon as beautiful, mysterious, or deadly as he was.

Deadly.

She could feel it like an aura around him.

He was dangerous.

And waking up.

Olivia scooted backwards and reached for the call button on the wall near the head of the bed. She didn’t make it. His eyes slowly opened and she froze in mid-swing for the button, transfixed by them. They were incredible. She had never seen eyes like his. His irises were the most amazing shade of purple.

His gaze slid towards her but he didn’t move.

“What are you?” Olivia whispered it again as his eyes began to change, shifting to a normal shade of blue, and then his ears changed too, the points dulling until they appeared human. Adapting. He was studying his environment and her, and he was adapting.

It was incredible.

Fascinating.

She lowered her hand to her side and stared at him.

“Specimen appears able to blend into his environment, changing his appearance to conceal himself.”

She had never seen a demon do this. Many of them did it and she had heard the tales from the field agents, but she had never witnessed it.

“You are being held in a secure facility and no harm will come to you.” She hoped he understood English. His blue gaze narrowed with his frown, locked on her mouth as she spoke. Maybe he didn’t understand her.

He sat up in one fluid motion, swinging his legs over the edge of the inspection table, the movement so swift that it startled her and she shot backwards, distancing herself. Her heart thundered in her throat. She should have pressed the call button.

She should have strapped him down.

Stupid.

Her gaze darted to the red button off to her right. Could she make it there and sound the alarm before he attacked?

“Where am I?” The sound of his deep voice sent a fiery tremble through her. It was at odds with his lithe figure. The commanding edge to it had her forgetting the call button and automatically answering him, because he didn’t sound like the sort of man you could piss off and live to tell the tale.

“At a secure research facility in London.” She hoped he didn’t ask what she had been doing to him while he had been unconscious because now that he was awake, very awake, that sense of danger he radiated had only grown stronger. Her shot at resuscitating her ailing career looked as though he might kill her if he didn’t like any of the answers to his questions.

His blue gaze moved around the room, cataloguing everything, a keen edge to it. Strategising. He had adapted to blend into his environment and now he was plotting a way out of it.

“How did you do that?” she said, unable to get her voice above a whisper. His attention snapped back to her.

“How did I do what?” He could definitely grasp her language.

“Your eyes... your ears.” She pointed a shaky finger at them.

He planted his hands on the edge of the table on either side of his hips and she struggled not to look down. Her guest didn’t appear to have any qualms about being naked in front of a stranger. He sat on the table, frowning at the equipment in the room. His gaze caught on the wires attached to the machines and he followed them to his chest. He raised a single black eyebrow and pulled the sticky pads off his body.

“Strange to ask me how and not why,” he said at last and looked up at her through his long black lashes, his blue eyes holding a glimmer of curiosity.

“I’m a medical doctor... a scientist.” She pulled at the chest of her long white coat, drawing his attention to it.

He glanced at it and then back around the room. His gaze lingered on the tray of tools to his left, narrowed, and then slid to her. A threat. She had enough experience of the world to know when someone was silently threatening her. He didn’t intend to use the scalpels and other implements on her. No. He meant to warn her that if she dared to attempt to use them on him, she would come off worse.

Olivia held her hands up in front of her. “Listen, I’m just curious about your species, and the things you can do. I wanted to help you.”

He grimaced and his grip on the edge of the table tightened until his arms shook. He ground out dark words in a foreign tongue and paled further. The edges of his irises turned purple.

The heart rate monitor still linked to his finger went crazy. He scowled at the machine and tried to move to take the clip off. His hands trembled violently.

“You’re not well.” Olivia reached out to steady him, instinct telling her to help him. She caught his upper arms and gasped. He was burning up, shaking beneath her fingers, his skin clammy. “You need to rest.”

“I will be fine... with a little fluids.” Pain grated in his deep voice and he swallowed hard.

“I wasn’t sure what to give you.” Olivia pressed her palm to his forehead. A fever? Was it part of his healing process or was his condition deteriorating? “I wasn’t sure what would harm or help you.”

He leaned forwards and his breath skated over her bare neck. She shivered, a hot rush sweeping through her.

“I know what fluid I need,” he whispered low, his voice barely there and teasing, stirring unbidden heat in her veins and quickening her pulse.

“Tell me and I’ll get it.” She tried to draw back and his hands shot up, fingers closing tightly around her upper arms.

“Oh, you already have it.”

He struck hard on the left side of her throat and her eyes widened. Shock stole her senses for a second before reality came crashing back. He was biting her. He was drinking her blood. Dark memories surged to the surface and she fought his hold on her, struggling like a wild thing. She wouldn’t let it happen to her again. She shoved at his chest, clawing with her short nails, and pounded her hands against it, striking as hard as she could.

He pulled her against his chest, caging her there, his arms steel bands across her back, pinning hers between their bodies. She wriggled, desperate to escape him, fear pounding down on her and making her heart stutter. He was going to drink her to death.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and her head spun, wooziness threatening to pull her down into the darkness.

“Please,” she whispered, breathless and weak, barely clinging to consciousness as her panic and fear overwhelmed her. “Release me... don’t kill me.”

Kissed by a Dark Prince is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find all the links at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/kbadp

Books in the Eternal Mates romance series:

Kissed by a Dark Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 1)

Claimed by a Demon King – coming February 2014

About Felicity Heaton:

Felicity Heaton is a USA Today and international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!

If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

Blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton

Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

Mailing List: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/newsletter.php

Guest Post: Felicity Heaton Talks Angels & Devils!

Today, please join me in welcoming the dynamic Felicity Heaton to my blog!  Felicity has a wicked imagination to match her ambition and don't be fooled by all the talk about angels... there is plenty of the diabolic lurking in her writing as well... *wink*

It’s wonderful to be here at Will’s blog to talk about my latest release, Her Wicked Angel, which is the sixth in my Her Angel romance series.

I’m going to be sharing an excerpt from the book with you today, but I also wanted to let you know that I’m celebrating the release by holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at my website, offering Her Guardian Angel at an incredible discount, and I’m also giving away the first book in the series, Her Dark Angel, for FREE at selected Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books and Apple iBookstore sites.

Find out how to enter the Her Wicked Angel international giveaway (ends September 29th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 6 chapter sample of the novel: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

SPECIAL OFFER: If you’re a Kindle, Kobo or Apple iBooks user, don’t forget to download your copy of Her Guardian Angel for only $0.99. That’s a $4 discount. Offer ends September 27th. Find all the links at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel

FREE EBOOK: You can find all the links for the Her Dark Angel free ebook offer (and two other free paranormal romance ebooks) at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php

Here’s more about Her Wicked Angel, including an excerpt from this long angel romance novel.

Her Wicked Angel
Felicity Heaton
The King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man, Asmodeus is a dark angel born of evil and created for destruction. When his master orders him to venture into the mortal world and retrieve a female for him, he seizes the chance to leave Hell for the first time, uncaring of what the Devil has planned for her… until he sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he has ever seen—a female who awakens new feelings within his black heart, unleashing passion so intense that it controls him and desire he cannot resist.
He will not let his wretched master have her. She will belong to him.
Liora is a witch with a bad reputation and an obsession with fighting demons. A mission gone wrong sees her sent to Paris to cool off, but when a dark and deadly warrior with a gaze of golden fire lands in her life, she ends up burning hotter than Hell for the wicked angel. Nothing will stand between her and the immense, forbidding male. Not her cousin. Not Asmodeus’s sworn enemy and twin, Apollyon. And certainly not the Devil.
Caught up in a tempest of danger and soul-searing passion, can they survive against the odds and seize their forever after?

Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

Her Wicked Angel – Excerpt

“What business do you have with me?” Asmodeus casually preened his feathers, preparing them for the flight home, and ignored the Devil’s scowl.

The male hated it when he spoke to him without an ounce of respect. Everyone else under his command simpered and scraped at his feet. As far as Asmodeus was concerned, the Devil had enough pathetic creatures kissing his expensive Italian leather shoes. Asmodeus wasn’t about to join them. He was above them.

The Devil’s right hand man. 

A male created for destruction and bloodshed.

“You are to travel to the mortal realm and retrieve a female for me.”

Asmodeus’s black eyebrows pinched in a frown and it took him a moment to absorb exactly what the Devil had said and the connotations it contained. 

One, he was ordering him to lower himself to the role of minion, retrieving him another female for his harem. Treating him like a servant. That irked him. He was not just another of the Devil’s servants.

Two, he was offering him a taste of the mortal world, granting him leave to step outside the environs of Hell for the first time in his existence. That intrigued Asmodeus. He had always wanted to see the mortal realm with his own eyes and experience it.

Asmodeus stared at him, weighing his options. Swallow his pride and finally fly in the world above, seeing the buildings and the colours, and all the things he had only ever seen in the pool on the plateau, or tell the Devil to stick it and spend the next week in the cells, probably tortured, possibly maimed permanently for his disobedience.

Asmodeus swallowed his pride and it tasted bitter. “Fine.” 

The Devil grinned, revealing short fangs. “Good. You will find her in Paris, in the middle of the park near the base of the Eiffel Tower. She will be wearing crimson and black. Bring her to me.”

Asmodeus nodded, took a step backwards and then turned away from the Devil. 

He threw his hand out in front of him and a black vortex appeared, swirling like smoke. It had been many centuries since he had bothered practicing glamours and veils, having given up on ever leaving Hell and having no need for changing his appearance in this realm. He hoped he hadn’t forgotten how to cast them.

Asmodeus focused on himself, casting a veil so none would see him when he stepped through the portal into the mortal realm. 

“Bring her to me quickly, Asmodeus,” the Devil said behind him and Asmodeus nodded again.

Perhaps he would dally just a little. Who knew when the Devil would allow him to leave Hell again?

He stepped through the black portal and tensed as he appeared in the mortal realm. His eyes watered and he blinked against the assault of strong light, leaning back into the shade of the tower that speared the blue sky above him.

Blue. 

Asmodeus tipped his head back and stared up at it, and then looked at his surroundings. Green trees. Dark metal. Pale stone. Mortals dressed in a multitude of colours. The warm air carried strange scents. Dust. Something sweet. Smoke. Sounds came from every direction. Blasts of noise and distant rumbles of what he suspected were vehicles. Constant chatter. Laughter. Squeals of happiness. All alien to him.

All choking and closing in on him. 

He didn’t like it.

He took a step back towards the portal behind him and glared at everyone as they passed. Ants. Hundreds of them. Swarming. Shoving. Jostling each other. He wanted to kill them all. They were noisy. Brutal. Irritating.

Insignificant.

Powerless.

Asmodeus grinned, his golden eyes narrowing with it, and flexed his fingers. His fangs began to lengthen and his black claws followed them.

Prey for the hunter. 

He would drown out the disgusting scents with the smell of blood. He would replace joy with fear, with screams and sobs and pointless pleas for mercy. He would bathe this colourful world in crimson.

Crimson.

A flash of that colour caught his eye and his gaze zeroed in on it. It was gone, lost in the sea of other hues. It flickered again, further off to his right, and his eyes shot to it. Wavy chestnut hair bounced against crimson ruffled material with each light step. He caught a sliver of black jeans. Crimson and black. The female the Devil wanted.

She turned and he glimpsed her face, and his desire to bathe his hands in the blood of these puny creatures slipped away, calm suffusing him, making him forget his irritation and dark desires.

She blinked, black lashes shuttering luminous hazel eyes, and turned away, continuing onwards towards a strip of green land to his right beyond the shadow of the tower.

Asmodeus felt a tug behind his breastbone, pulling him in her direction, but something told him it wasn’t the Devil commanding him to follow her. It was something else that made him want to track her through the crowd.

He focused and altered his appearance as he walked, hiding his pieces of gold-edged black armour with a black dress shirt, black jeans and leather boots, and shielding his wings. He lifted the veil that concealed him from mortal eyes and stalked the female as she moved through the thinning crowd, keeping his distance but remaining close enough that he wouldn’t lose her.

She stepped out into the bright sunlight on the vivid green grass and it cast golden highlights in her hair. Asmodeus’s heart missed a beat and then thumped hard against his ribs. His palms sweated.

Why?

He had hunted thousands before for the Devil. This female was no different. He would capture her and take her to him.

He wouldn’t.

Asmodeus shook his head and paused at the edge of the crowd, staring after her.

He wouldn’t?

He had pushed the Devil to the limit of his patience a thousand times but he had never disobeyed an order. He would not begin now.

He would take the female to his master.

The female in question turned on the grass and peered up the height of the tower, using a slender hand to shield her eyes, and Asmodeus’s heart missed another beat.

He slammed his hand against his bare chest and coughed. What was wrong with him?

Was the mortal world making him sick? He had never been sick before, but he had heard that demons could become ill. He wasn’t a demon though. He had never heard of an angel growing sick. Was it possible?

All the more reason to grab the female and return to Hell.

He took a step towards her, and then another one. She turned her back on him and he closed in until he was only a few metres away.

He just needed to grab her and then deliver her to the Devil. It wasn’t difficult, so why was he hesitating? He had never hesitated before. He had carried out his master’s orders without pause or regret, spilling blood and carving flesh, destroying lives. This was easy. Grab. Deliver. End of mission.

The Devil would have a new female for his growing harem. Asmodeus would return to his castle.

His stomach turned at the thought of that male laying his filthy claws on this delicate, dainty female.

He stared at the back of her head, replaying how she had looked when she had paused to glance up the height of the Eiffel Tower.

Wide hazel eyes.

Soft rosy lips.

Delicate perfect features and porcelain skin.

Chestnut hair cascading over her shapely shoulders.

Beautiful.

Pure.

Asmodeus wanted to close the gap between them, gently lay his hands on her shoulders, and slowly turn her to face him so he could drink his fill of her beauty and purity all over again.

Instead, he took a step backwards, distancing himself from her. Foreign feelings and thoughts collided in his mind, filling it and sending him in circles, tearing him between completing his mission and doing something that astounded him.

He could leave her here, in peace, and come up with an excuse. He couldn’t let his despicable master ruin her. He wouldn’t.

He turned away and held his hand out before him, focusing on the air there to call a portal back to Hell.

“Where do you go, Asmodeus?” The soft female voice caught him off guard.

His shoulders tensed and his outstretched hand shook.

She knew his name. She recognised him. And she spoke in English, even though they were in France.

English was not the native language of this land.

He had never left Hell before.

How did she know him?

He looked over his right shoulder and found her standing where he had left her, but facing him, her hands clasped in front of her, over the point where her crimson short-sleeved gypsy-style top met her black jeans.

A serene smile curved her rosy lips and it was then that he felt the incredible power in her.

Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback.

Find all the links, a fantastic 6 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to enter the Her Wicked Angel giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

Books in the Her Angel romance series:

Her Dark Angel (Her Angel romance series book 1)

Her Fallen Angel (Her Angel romance series book 2)

Her Warrior Angel (Her Angel romance series book 3)

Her Guardian Angel (Her Angel romance series book 4)

Her Demonic Angel (Her Angel romance series book 5)

Her Wicked Angel (Her Angel romance series book 6)

Find out more about the Her Angel series at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/series/54822-her-angel

About Felicity Heaton:

Felicity Heaton writes passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In her books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!

If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, Felicity Heaton’s best selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series she writes as F E Heaton or any of her stand alone vampire romance books she writes as Felicity Heaton. Or if you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try Felicity Heaton’s new Vampire Erotic Theatre series.

In 2011, five of her six paranormal romance books received Top Pick awards from Night Owl Reviews, Forbidden Blood was nominated as Best PNR Vampire Romance 2011 at The Romance Reviews, and many of her releases received five star reviews from numerous websites.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

Blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton

Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

Victoria Blisse's 100th Sunday Snog

One of my oldest friends in the biz is Victoria Blisse, who was also one of the first writers I edited professionally.  With so much history between us, I was pleased to be asked to participate in her 100th anniversary Sunday Snog.


Vic asked if I could put up an excerpt and offer a prize, so here is an excerpt from my erotic short entitled En Garde, originally published by Phaze and now available from Purple Prosaic, either on its own or as part of my single author anthology, When There's A Will.

The theme for the 100th Sunday Snog is kissing, so here is the scene where Kelly corners John... and gets him to give her the kiss she's been offering. An offer he keeps talking himself out of acknowledging...

"John? You've got one chance to tell me what it is you see that you don't like."
Startled out of my thoughts, I glanced up hurriedly. Kelly stood in the entrance to the hallway. The pink of her nipples was brilliant against her pale skin. A tattoo of a thin vine sporting thorns and tiny purple flowers circled one breast and trailed down her side and across her mid-section. I tried not to stare at the trimmed patch of brunette hair where it ended and her legs began. I forced my gaze up her naked body to meet hers. 
Those intense hazel eyes held mine, burning with a mixture of anger, frustration, and seduction.
"Kelly, what? What the hell?"
"Oh, come on! I've been fucking throwing myself at you all night. Now you tell me, what is there about me that makes you so unwilling to take a hint? You don't like girls with small tits or
something? Or maybe you just don't like girls, period? Please, John, tell me you're gay. It'll make me feel much better."
She stomped across the living room in her naked glory and I felt the blood in my body rushing to both my face and my cock.
Throwing herself to the couch next to me, she put her hand in my lap with the same decisive, no-nonsense attitude she showed in her fighting.
"Okay, so you aren't gay. And you do like what you see. So tell me, why haven't you kissed me yet?"
A million possible replies crossed my mind in an instant. None of them were adequate, so I ignored them. I lifted my hands to the back of her head and pulled her lips to mine.
Her mouth opened with a moan and I thrust my tongue in to wrangle with hers. My hands twisted in her hair and I crushed her lips against mine, pouring all the longing energy I had spent
the evening conserving into the effort. I didn't stop to question the reality of the situation; I just kissed her as hard as I could.

For a prize, I am offering an e-book copy of the anthology containing En Garde.  I'll leave it to the lovely Ms. Blisse to determine how the winner is determined.

R.I.P. Frederik Pohl

Frederick Pohl died Monday at the age of ninety-three.  One of the last remaining links to the beginnings of science fiction, Pohl was not only a great author, but an agent and editor as well.  He was also a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army in Italy.

Pohl was one of the memorable writers who helped me come to love the idea that there was more to the world than what I could see in front of me.  Thank you for that, sir.  My thoughts and prayers to Elizabeth, your wife of twenty-nine years, and to the three daughters, son and grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will miss you so much more than I will.

Juggling Lives

It's not a new thing for me to feel as though I've too many masters.  Nor is it something I find dismaying.  But it can get a little confusing at times.

As an author of erotica, there are certain things you just have to keep separate.  I learned a hard lesson in this a few years ago, when I actually lost a job because of what I wrote.  Not that my writing was the only factor, but as the emotional distance from that time has increased I have been able to more clearly see that it was the deciding one.  It was a perfect storm of a situation, and there were other influences.  But the spool that the varied threads converged on was my writing, and without it I would not have lost that job.

That's hard.  Especially when you go to apply for other "real world" jobs and they want to know why you left your last one.

This summer has been one of transition for me.  I've had the same day job for about three and a half years and it was time to make a change.  I was in a bad financial place and the current job was only enough to keep my head from disappearing beneath the waves.  There was never going to be a swell I could ride to the beach.

So, I took steps.  I made the legal decision to liquidate my debt.  I found a new job in a completely divergent industry.  I had a plan.  Like any plan, it lasted about as long as it took to write it before circumstances forced it to change.  The job I was supposed to transition to got delayed by multiple factors.  Despite the forward movement on solvency, finances again reared their head in the form of an unanticipated large-scale vehicle repair. 

And, of course, while the new job is worthwhile, it has a public side that again forces my writing to be treated as, at the very least, a privacy issue.

The more things change....

Morning Mist

With the sky a low-hanging quilt of white and grey, time stands still.  The dew still stands on the deck, and the insect chorus seems unsure whether day has arrived or not.  The sun is a stranger this morning, and the hour could as easily be six as nine.

An illusion, of course.  Today is a day of monumental change in my household, as one of us steps beyond education as threat and social requirement and into that realm where it becomes a true choice.  I thrived in that change and I hope and believe he will too.  We shall see.

But he is still abed and the rest of the house is vacant, with some at school and some at work and me musing about mists on the porch.

I wouldn't mind if time really did stand still here for a bit.

Para-Palooza

In my time in the business of telling stories, I've had the very real pleasure of meeting and enjoying the company of several others who have chosen this rather masochistic life.

Several of them are participating in the upcoming Smutketeers.com event called Para-Palooza.  Including yours truly, who is really trying to get back to a place where people know he exists in this rather crowded field.

The lineup  in that graphic is impressive.  Even intimidating.  There are a lot of writers on that list that I know personally and admire.  I am, quite possibly, the least accomplished of them.  Which makes it all the more flattering that I was invited to contribute, and quite a bit more intimidating.

There's a truth to my own personal philosophy that sometimes seems self-defeating.  I am far more motivated by the welfare of others than I am by my own.  Yes, that can be turned into an asset and I would like to think I've successfully done that at times, through my contributions to charities like Coming Together and coaching little league and helping teach martial arts.  But at times when I start to doubt myself, it is anything but good.

I'm trying hard to believe I belong in that company.

But whether I do or not ( I do, really.  I'm a good writer.  I suck at promoting myself and I trip over my tongue at times, but I can spin a yarn.) I am going to enjoy sharing their virtual company.  I hope you will join us for the fun.

Too Much Equals Too Little

I had largely ignored my diverse net history for the last several years.  I have a website that links back to this blog, a Wordpress, a Livejournal, Twitter, Facebook... I probably even still have a MySpace page out there somewhere.

Consolidation.  It needs to happen. 

I need one place to go post thoughts and then disseminate it.  That way, instead of an email about a spam comment reminding me I have a Wordpress blog I haven't touched since 2009, I would write one post and update multiple destinations.  Then, if I want to rant, share or muse, it reaches far more people.

Instead, because I have too many possible destinations, I have too little content in any one place.  Time to learn how to change that.  I know it can be done, I know others who do it.  Time for me to follow their example.

High Hopes and Realistic Goals

Real Vampires Don't Surf released Friday.  The culmination of years of false starts and real changes and a great example of how I've grown as a writer.  It's the best fiction I've ever written.

Of course, I hope that I will always say that with every new book.  That should be the goal, right?  To always be improving, to keep learning the craft, for each and every blade you forge to be a bit sharper ad more durable than the last.

There are some other goals with this one.  Promo has never been my strongest point, despite the fact that I write decent ad copy.  I'm just not very aggressive about getting out there in front of a virtual room full of people with a finite amount of dollars and going "Hey! MY book deserves those dollars!"

I do believe that.  My book, especially this one, absolutely deserves your purchasing decision.  At $3.99 for ebook and on sale for $10.49 in paperback, it's a bargain.  It will give you a great entertainment return on investment.

I need to see something come back on this one.  I don't need to top Amazon's charts or get a movie deal.  But I sure would like to break into four figures on the unit sales.  I think that's both ambitious and realistic.  If I can sell 1000 copies, it would justify the sweat/time investment in the sequel.  And it would pay for the re-manufactured engine  my Subaru needs.

A Cruel and Selfish God

Marriage equality has made many headlines lately, thanks to a Prop 8 case and a DOMA case making it to oral arguments in the Supreme Court.

As usual, this brings both proponents and opponents out in force.  I think if you have read anything by me, you know where I stand.  So rather than address that, I want to address something that is what you might call a sub-argument.

The most hardcore opponents tend to base their reasoning on religion.  And in the United States, the ones doing the most noticeable arguing are certain sects of the Christian faith.  I qualify that for two reasons.  One, the most stubborn opposition world wide is not Christian.  The Muslim faith definitely seems more angry and violent and, unfortunately, united about it.  Two, there are many Christians who have no problem with marriage equality.  And some of those remain strong on the idea that God doesn't sanction these unions.  They simply are able to differentiate between marriage, the civil institution, and Holy Matrimony.

The ones that are not making that distinction and are being the most vocal about it in the U.S. tend to trumpet scripture as proof.  And here is where we get to what is rubbing me today.  Why would you want to prove to me that God said this?

If I say to you, "Murder is wrong," do you answer back "Yes.  I studied and in my studies I came across Exodus 20 and that says you are right?"  Or are you more likely to just say, "Yes, it is."  You don't feel the need to quote scripture to prove murder is wrong.  Likely, this is because there is nothing in you telling you that you need an excuse to believe murder is wrong.  You can feel it.  You know it is wrong.  

But with marriage equality, you feel like you need scriptural proof.  And the reason is simple.  You want justification.  Because your own mind argues with you about it.  Deep inside, there is a little voice that raises questions about why and what if.  The reason that voice is questioning you is because, intellectually, you know that Ben and Robert getting married does nothing to prevent the happiness of George and Martha.

So, you get out your Bible and you argue.  You find verses that support your position. (more on that another time.  For the present, assume the verses are not tainted by translation or time & place or by later scripture disavowing the earlier rules.)  You present these as proof that your loving and just God never intended Ben & Robert or Julie & Theresa or any other same sex marriage.  And then you usually throw in something about eternal damnation and disobeying the will of God.

Now here is what I don't get.  You work so hard and prove this.  And let's accept that it is proven.  You get out your Bible and you prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that God says that marriage equality is wrong.  Maybe you even acknowledge that none of the individual couples being argued about have done anything wrong.  Maybe you agree they deserve every chance for happiness.  But God SAYS no.

What have you actually proven?  What does your argument prove to me if you prove that, even though everyone is human and deserves love and happiness and equality before the law, God says that they should not be allowed to marry?

You have proven to me that your god is cruel, unjust and not worthy of my worship.  You have proven to me that your god discriminates and indulges sadistic impulses among the very children he created.  You have proven to me that your god is selfish and angry and hateful.  You have proven to me that I John 4 is wrong.  God is most certainly NOT love.

So, what I am saying is maybe you should not work so hard to prove that to me.  Maybe, just maybe, you ought to listen to that little questioning voice.  Because maybe, just maybe, the voice you fear is that of Satan... isn't.

Real Vamps Word Cloud