25 February 2017

Saturday Scene, 25 February 2017 (of Doom!)

In accordance with prophecy, here's this week's #SaturdayScenes! This offering is a freshly-written snippet for what may (or may not) evolve into a sequel for Flowers of Luna. As always, you are encouraged to leave a comment after the show.

It's funny, but when you walk away from people, you expect them to stay right where you left them. Planets are predictable that way. There's no, “hey it's Tuesday! What's Jupiter doing?”  Ol’ Jupiter is doing just what he’s been doing for the last billion plus years: The King of Storms is rolling along his orbit with his harem of moons orbiting around him. “Hey Io, nice to see you. Callisto, how you doing today? Big guy! Still got your red spot, I see!”

But people? People have agency. They're liable to get up in the middle of the night and decide, “hey, I'm going to walk down by the reservoir and get murdered.” Which is apparently what happened to Jin’ichi Fujikawa. Which in turn, was what gathered four Gray women together in Lunagrad.

My three-mat apartment was not big enough to hold four Grays and a Tsuchiya, even if we were of the younger, less mythically engorged, generation. So we were at the other place we could be reasonably certain no one could see or hear us -- the storefront-turned-design-studio my business partners and I rent to run our student fashion label, The Girl Goes Dancing.

My girlfriend, Hana Tsuchiya, was pacing in front of the display sheets that blocked the view from the street.  She was picking the rough cuticles of her thumbs with her other fingernails. My sororal twin, Ren, was draped bonelessly over the leather sofa; our identical nieces Maddisyn and Makayla were leaning against the pool table in mirror-image postures, arms folded under breasts, one heel resting on the toes of the other foot.

That the four of us were family was immediately obvious to the casual observer. We all had the same retrousse nose, epicanthal fold, and steel gray eyes; we had the same figure, archtype 12, broad of breast and hip, with a long, well-defined waist and proportionally shorter legs. My hair was raven-wing black, though it glowed in the dark; Ren’s was burnished copper. Maddisyn and Makayla shared dark-blonde hair as they shared everything else. But beyond the physical, there was a shared sense of dangerousness about us; a sense of impending violent action.

Maddisyn decided I’d been silent too long.  “I bet you’re all wondering why I called you here,” she quipped.

“I was wondering that, actually,” Makayla responded.  “Is it my birthday? I love birthdays.”

“Sush, children,” Ren said.  Our nieces were the same age we were, commissioned from the same genetic lab twenty years ago, but we made a point of being of the older generation. “Let Ran tell the story.”

“Story time?” the nieces chorused together.  They sat cross-legged on the Persian carpet in fluid sync, propping elbows on knees and chins on conjoined fists. “Tell us a story, venerated and aged aunty!” Makayla added.

I held out my hand toward Ren. She picked up one of the sofa pillows and tossed it to me.  I threw it at Maddisyn, who ducked. “Hey,” she protested.  “She said it! I’m just the straight man!”

“Would you be serious?!” Hana exploded, coming around the pool table.  “Jin’ichi is dead! Murdered! And you’re acting like this is some kind of game!”

“No one is acting like it’s a game, Hana-chan,” I reassured her.  “This is the Gray family version of deadly serious.”  The other three nodded agreement.  Somewhat mollified, Hana came over and took my hand, squeezing it tightly.

“We understand this is our Moore’s Farm,” Ren assured her, referencing a situation our parents and older siblings had faced when we were small children. “Humor helps keep the mind calm and working. And Grays… well, you know our credo.”

“Scientia Dimidium Bellorum?” I asked, trying to figure out how that fit.

“Stab when you have to,” Ren countered. “Offer candy bars when you can.”

“Also?” Maddisyn chimed in, “remember the lesson of Great-Aunt Umeko, and don’t get the two mixed up.”

“It’s really not very effective if you stab them with a candy bar,” Makayla agreed.

Hana looked at me and shook her head.  “It’s like dealing with four of you at once,” she complained.

“That’s why I called them,” I agreed.  “These guys are going to learn that they messed with the wrong Gray.”




And now, time for linkies! If you enjoy my writing and would like to read more, there's a short story I wrote available for free on Wattpad. Also? My book Flowers of Luna is available on Amazon. It's only U$2.99 for the Kindle version -- and it is available on Kindle Unlimited, so if you're one of those folk, you can read it without any further financial outlay.

I'd also like to mention that my friend Andrea Marie Brokaw recently released her second shifter romance, Of Snow and Whiskers, also on Amazon, at the same price. And my friend Maria Hollis' book The Melody of You and Me? Same price! On Amazon!

24 February 2017

Sneak Peek of Dooooooooom!

Every most many weekends, I take part in #SaturdayScenes on Google+, where I share a snippet of something I've written.  This week, I wrote a scene especially for the event, which may or may not turn into something bigger down the road.

And while it's not Saturday yet, I thought maybe you might like a sneak preview?

“Scientia Dimidium Bellorum?” I asked, trying to figure out how that fit.
“Stab when you have to,” Ren countered. “Offer candy bars when you can.”
“Also?” Maddisyn chimed in, “remember the lesson of Great-Aunt Umeko, and don’t get the two mixed up.”
“It’s really not very effective if you stab them with a candy bar,” Makayla agreed.

Come back Saturday for context!

22 February 2017

New Interview, Now with Less Doom!

Last year, I wrote an interview with myself, because I've always secretly wanted to be Walt Whitman. Whitman, in case you were not aware, wrote many of the early reviews of Leaves of Grass himself, under various pseudonyms, and got them published in a great many papers.

Anyway, here recently, I sent out review copies of my book, Flowers of Luna, to various reviewers and book bloggers.  One of them, Wendy, decided to interview me instead of reviewing the book. It was a fun experience.

Flowers of Luna is available on Amazon, and through Kindle Unlimited, so if you've already paid your dues for that this month, you can read the book without further financial outlay! And if you've read it and liked it? Please leave a review on Amazon, even if it only says "I liked this book," or "Eh, it was okay-ish." The star ratings you give in the kindle don't count for book rankings; only actual reviews do. This is the reader's superpower... if you'd like me to be able to write more books, help me out by helping this one succeed!

And that's all for the NPR fund drive for today.

If you're on the fence about picking up Flowers of Luna (hey, I've had years where three clams was a lot, too!) and would like to check out some of my writing for free? You're in luck! Some of my short fiction is up on Wattpad, where you can read it for free!

And if you're one of my fans who has read everything, and left comments and reviews everywhere? Thank you! I could do this without you, but what would be the point? It's all about you, baby.  It's all about you.

13 February 2017

The Cover Art of Doom!

Howdy, folks!

The other day, I mentioned that I have a story up on Wattpad which you can read for free.  Well, Troy Campbell, the artist who did the wonderful chapter head illustrations for Flowers of Luna, took a look at the story, "There Shall be Blood," and announced that the cover illustration I'd come up with for it was all wrong, and he made me a new one.  I'm not entirely convinced that he's right, so I'm letting my readers decide the matter!

Because Blogger doesn't have a straight-forward way to put polls into posts, I created a poll on Google+.  If you'd like to see the art, and voice your choice, that's where to go!




And now, an advertisement to pay the bills: I wrote a Sapphic romance in a hard SciFi setting, Flowers of Luna, which you can find on Amazon! It's only U$2.99 for the Kindle edition, and if you happen to be a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can read it without further expense!

11 February 2017

Saturday Scene, 11 Feb '17. (Of Doom).

For this Saturday Scene, another snippet of my current WIP, Little Sisters of the Dragonslayer. It picks up directly where The Knights of Doom leaves off.



“We leave at first light,” Siobhan said.

“You should go and get ready,” the Abbot said to Midori.

Midori bowed, opened the door panel behind her, and exited without standing. Outside the door, she let out a long, slow breath, then allowed herself one quick, silent fist-pump. Aware that the hall contained the cells of the oldest of the Sisters Instructor, those who rarely taught anymore but often frowned at young Probationary Sisters. Midori didn’t think her elevation to Novice Sister would change the propensity to frown at unseemly displays, so she got to her feet and walked decorously to the end of the hall. She calmly descended the short flight of stairs, glanced left, then turned right into the cross hall.

It was empty, and Midori took three running steps before calling the wind to her. It swirled around her, lifting her braided hair, her tunic, sliding under her feet. With the thumb’s breadth of air under her, her momentum carried her quickly down the hall. At the kitchen doors, she let the wind die away. She paused for a moment to finger-comb her bangs, hoping it erased the traces of the wind. She moved into the kitchen, looking around.

“She’s not here,” Lay Sister Zalma called, her huge green hands kneading dough.

Midori tried to look innocent. “Who isn’t?”

The Troll chuckled. “Don’t presume that because my eyes are so far off the floor, they don’t see, child,” she answered in her rumbling voice. “Osumare is helping out at the forge. Take a crescent,” she instructed, nodding to indicate the sheet freshly pulled from the oven, “for yourself, and one for her. One!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Midori said obediently, picking up two of the crescent rolls. She smiled at the Lay Sister, skipped through the kitchen, ducked out the back door into the abbey’s inner ward. Outside, she could hear the pounding of hammers on metal, and the roar of the forge. She trotted to the corner, looked cautiously around.

Lay Sister Clarisse, the Orc forgemistress, was working with several Probationary Sisters, but Midori had eyes only for one: Osumare. Osumare was stripped to the waist, other than a leather and linen breastband. Her skin was the dark brown of those who lived closest to the equator, and under it, every muscle stood in stark definition as she brought the hammer up above her head and then down hard upon the glowing metal she held against the anvil with a pair of tongs. Her dreadlocks were pulled up and back in a messy bun. When they were children Osumare’s hair had been as black as Midori’s own, but about the time their breasts began growing, she had started going gray, and her hair was now as white as the snow on the hillsides.

Midori loved watching Osumare work; watching the play of her powerful muscles beneath her sweat-streaked skin. Midori had made her a name-day gift this year, knitting her a breastband and a pair of briefs from linen yarn. She’d liberated a measure of cocoa beans from the kitchen, ground them finely and boiled them to make a dye she hoped would match the color of Osumare’s skin. The first time Osumare had worn them for combat lessons, though, her sweat had made the improvised dye run, leaving the cloth streaky. Her skin had smelled deliciously for days, Midori recalled.

Osumare finished pounding the metal, and held it up to the light. It was a piece of wasserstahl, Midori saw, though it had been colored a vibrant red somehow. The young woman nodded in satisfaction, and set the piece aside to cool slowly. Midori came out from around the corner, running toward her back, hoping to surprise her. Without looking around, though, Osumare called, “What’s for lunch?”

Midori sighed. “I am not certain, though I have reason to believe it may be chicken salad on crescent rolls.”

Osumare chuckled. “Reason to believe? What’s with the formal language?” She turned and saw the rolls in Midori’s hands. “Is one of those for me?”

“Depends,” Midori answered, looking through her lashes coquettishly. “What’ll you give me for one?”

“A kiss?” Osumare offered.

“And?” Midori countered.

“A promise of more kisses later?”

“Deal!” Midori thrust one of the rolls toward Osumare, who took it and leaned forward to kiss her.

“If you’re not working,” Sister Clarisse called, “step away from the forge!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Midori and Osumare chorused, stepping out from under the roof. They walked to the well, and Midori half sat on the coping.

“That wasn’t a very good kiss,” Osumare said, standing in front of her. “Try again?”

Midori nodded, scooted back on the coping. As Osumare stepped in, she wrapped her legs around the taller girl, pulling her in. They kissed slowly, joyously. “Better,” Osumare said, and Midori grinned agreement.

Osumare stayed leaning against Midori, with the shorter girl’s legs wrapped around her. “Did you just come out to give me a crescent and extort a kiss?”

Midori thumped her butt with one foot. “You are such a liar! There was no extortion, only bribery!” She grinned, and Osumare grinned back, her dark eyes twinkling with good humor. She patted Midori’s leg gently, and Midori released her. “But no. I have news. Big news. Exciting news. News I wanted you to hear first!”

Osumare sighed and leaned against the coping beside Midori. “You’ve been chosen for elevation?”

“No, I’ve been… yes. How did you…?”

Osumare rolled her eyes. “I had stable duty yesterday morning; I saw the Initiate Sister’s runner. And we celebrated last week when you passed the open-hand trial, which was your last one. And the only other probie who’s even close to being ready to be a Novice is me, and I’ve only taken three of the tests.” She tore into the roll, pulling it apart and putting the torn-off hunk in her mouth.

“Okay, yes,” Midori said, good humor in her tone. “But besides that, how did you know?” They laughed together.




And now, time for linkies! If you enjoy my writing and would like to read more, there's a short story I wrote available for free on Wattpad. Also? My book Flowers of Luna is available on Amazon.  It's only U$2.99 for the Kindle version -- and it is available on Kindle Unlimited, so if you're one of those folk, you can read it without any further financial outlay.

I'd also like to mention that my friend Andrea Marie Brokaw recently released her second shifter romance, Of Snow and Whiskers, also on Amazon, at the same price. And my friend Maria Hollis' book The Melody of You and Me? Same price! On Amazon!

See you next week, gentle readers!

04 February 2017

The Wilds of Doom!

So, Flowers of Luna has been loosed upon an unsuspecting world! (Or, I dunno... maybe I've hyped it enough that the world was suspecting, after all). And many of you have downloaded it, or started reading it on Kindle Unlimited, and that's fabulous!

But I'd really like to know what you think of it. Please, leave me reviews, not just on Goodreads, but especially on the Amazon page.

Leaving reviews is the reader's superpower! Number of reviews is a big part of how Amazon decides whether, and how, to suggest the book to other readers, which has a direct impact on the author's ability to sell books, feed her little gray cats, and keep writing! More importantly, it helps me learn what you like and don't like, and those things can be incorporated into future books!

So, as the kids say, Please 'kay thanx!

While you're there, if you happen to order the dead tree edition, would you be kind enough to let me know if the print quality meets your expectations? I've agreed to a 90-day exclusive with Amazon / KDP so that I could have the book available through Kindle Unlimited, but that means I didn't get a preview copy of the printed version. Let me know what you think?

02 February 2017

The Day of Doooooooooom!

We're now within twenty-four hours of the public release of Flowers of Luna! This time tomorrow, y'all will be able to read the words I spent years preparing.

It's an exciting time for me, but also a frightening one. I've already had one review which was essentially "Eh, too much sex." It makes me wonder how everyone else will see the book, if y'all will enjoy it, or want to hurl it from you with force and a well-chosen epithet.

However you feel about it, I beg you -- after you've read it, please go back to Amazon and leave a review. Reviews are literally the way that Amazon decides which independent books to promote, and the more, the better.

Thanks for your attention and interest in my fiction writing! I hope you all enjoy the book!

01 February 2017

The Amazon Link of Doom!

Howdy, true believers! And, uh, you heretics, too.  Hi.  Yes, I see you.  Have a seat in back there, please, and don't hold up the tray of snickerdoodles when they come around? Thank you.

Well, the day I've been working toward for years is finally here, and I can share the link with you.  Flowers of Luna is now available at Amazon!  Currently it's available as an ebook pre-order, but it will release on Friday, 3 February '17. If you prefer a dead tree edition, be patient, it's coming.  It should be at that same link in just a few days.

This is a major milestone for me, and I'm very excited to share it.