New cover art + excerpt

I've finalized the new cover for my re-release of Compass Hearts. Whaddaya think?

I'm super pleased with it!

My friend and critique partner is playing FLE for me on this manuscript. Making sure the small changes I made work and that I haven't missed any typos. (Serious fingers crossed there. I was not happy about the number of typos that were in there even after I, my editor, and the original FLE went over it. We're only human, but geez!)

Look for the re-release in the next week or so! In the meantime, here's an excerpt:

He barely recognized his own voice as he went on. "The human body is... fascinating." There was a question, an invitation, underlying his statement. He hoped Ash would hear it and understand. Despite this sudden swell of bravery, he knew he couldn't say that out loud.

A slow smile spread across Ash's face. Matthew grinned back, guessing his message had gotten through. His guess was confirmed when Ash asked, "Have you ever had a live model?"

"No." Matthew's cock strained at his breeches. He yearned to draw Ash, see him stripped and posed. He couldn't remember ever wanting anything so much or so urgently in his life.

Then reality crashed down on him. His face fell. "My materials are at my apartment." In the time it took to get there and back, the moment would be beyond lost. And there was no way he was taking Ash back to his flat. He didn't want Ash to see it. It was so unbearably grim, lacking in any charm or comfort, especially when compared to Ash's quirky and inviting room upstairs.

"What do you need?" Ash asked.

"Charcoal pencils, largish paper."

"I have that."

"You do?" Matthew perked up at this spark of hope. It was almost too good to believe. "How? Why?"

"Botany class. We do a lot of plant sketching. I not only have charcoal pencils, I have pressed pigment pencils."

Matthew's eyes lit up and Ash grinned and grabbed his hand. "Come on." Ash pulled him to his feet and toward the stairs.

Matthew's practical side asserted itself and, still clinging to sense, he asked, "What about our books?"

"No one will bother them. Come on!" He practically dragged Matthew from the parlor. By the time their feet hit the stairs, though, Matthew was plenty willing to follow him up.

Inside the cozy comfort of the little attic room, Ash went immediately to the window seat. He opened it and fished around inside, coming up a moment later with a large tablet and a tin box. "Here." He handed the box to Matthew who opened it and looked in wonder at the myriad colored pencils within.

"Where did you get these?" he asked, awed and envious.

"Some of them I bought in town. Some of them my dad gave me before I came here." Ash flipped through the tablet of his botany drawings, Matthew looking over his shoulder. The plants were barely recognizable, and then only because he'd labeled them. "They're awful, I know," said Ash. He pulled a disgusted face. "It's all right to say so."

"I just have one question," said Matthew.

"Yes?" Ash turned and looked up at him. "What?"

"Are you actually passing botany?"

Ash burst out laughing. "All right, Master Critical." He flipped to a blank sheet and shoved the tablet at Matthew. "Let's see you do better."

"That much I can guarantee."

"I've never been an artist's model." Ash's eyes shone deep blue in the lantern light and his voice was husky. "Tell me what to do."

Matthew swallowed hard once. The heat and tightness in his groin were intense, and he was glad for the tablet he held in front of him. What was he thinking? He'd never get through this! Panic began to rise in him, quelling his arousal. No. I want to do this, damn it! Steeling himself and taking control of his fear, he said with as much authority as he could muster, "Strip."

New Worlds, Old Worlds, and Things In Between

As a primarily fantasy author, it should go without saying that I love world-building. In case it needs to be stated, well, I just did. Right now, I'm working out a story that's not quite fantasy/sci-fi, but neither is it historical. Can you guess? It's steampunk. (Natch.) I'm finding the creation of an historical-yet-fantastical world particularly challenging. How much do you stick to reality vs. how much do you fabricate? How plausible does your "science" have to be? How detailed do you have to get? Is it better if you just stick to general, broad descriptions of the tech? How historically accurate do you need to be, or should you veer away from historical events completely? I've read a fair amount of steampunk at this point by a variety of authors, and each finds his or her own balance, some with more success than others. I'm convinced that a solid knowledge of events of the time is the cornerstone of good steampunk. After all, when you know the rules, you can then choose how and when to break them. Of course, that means I wish I remembered more of my local and national history classes. Time to hit the books!

Equality Post, Now with Music!

 The US Supreme Court has begun hearing oral arguments regarding California's discriminatory Prop 8 and the national embarrassment that is DOMA. (I don't know about you, but my marriage doesn't need "defending", thanksverymuch.) I can only imagine that I am  preaching to the choir here but that's okay. Here are a couple of songs that are all about equality and love. I hope you enjoy them.

Going, going... but coming back!

I'm on top of things for once. This is a heads up to let you know that my novella Compass Hearts is almost out of time at its current publisher. It will be going out of print with Torquere Press within the next few weeks. But there is hope! I'll be rereleasing it myself on our old friends Amazon.com and BN.com as soon after as I can. If you'd like to pick it up now, with the lovely cover provided by the wonderful Alessia Brio, you should pop over to TP's site and pick it up. It's a little something that's bound to keep you warm through these last days of winter. ;-)

Compass Hearts @ Torquere Books

Here's a little reminder what it's all about.

As the fourth son of merchant parents, Matthew Morgan has always been superfluous. The only guidance he ever received was to behave and stay out of the way. Now, at a university half a world away from home, he must discover who he is and what he wants. Too bad he's never made a decision in his life.

When Ash Thearon meets Matthew, the handsome fellow student he's been ogling all quarter, he finds him sweet, sexy, and more than a little puzzling. To solve that puzzle, he must first collect all the pieces, which is easier said than done. The new friends quickly become lovers, but Matthew's sheltered life has taught him only how to follow. Ash wants the give and take of an equal, and Matthew's tendency to try too hard to please others leaves Ash wondering how to teach him independence without losing him.

Please Don't Pirate My Book Day

It was pointed out to me that Chuck Wendig wrote a blog post declaring today "Please Don't Pirate My Book Day". If you haven't read the post, I recommend doing so. Go on. I'll wait.

It's a good read, isn't it? It's timely, too. Why, just two weeks ago, I had dinner with a friend during which we vehemently discussed epiracy. Primarily, we discussed piracy of music, but the problem applies to ebooks just like it applies to mp3s or images, for that matter. (Do I need to point out that, us being us, there was a great deal of vitriol and some truly inspired obscenities lobbed about? ... I thought not.) Two things about piracy gall me most.  (We might find out as we go that there are more than two things, but let's start with two.)

First, when a pirate downloads one of my books from a pirate site (or whatever method they choose to copy and share that file) instead of purchasing it from an authorized retailer, I DON'T GET PAID. (#18 in Mr. Wendig's post) Do you like to be paid for the long hours you work and the job that you do? Do you like to be valued and appreciated for what you bring to your job? Yeah, me too. Well, when you (I mean the generic "you", of course) steal my book (and let's not kid ourselves here, duplication in this fashion is, essentially, theft of copyrighted material) you're basically telling me that my time, my energy, my hard work, and my creativity aren't worth the price of a good latte. You'll pardon me if I don't take that as a compliment.

Second, it's the attitude of entitlement (#24) of so many people that makes me want to send hard drive-melting viruses through the intarwebs to burn pirates' computers into so much worthless slag and, just to make a point, set their hair on fire.  Certainly this attitude of entitlement is not held by every person who has ever illegally copied an ebook or stolen a music file or, hell, mixed a CD for a friend. I love to generalize, but even I can see that saying every epirate is a spoiled, selfish, self-important fuckwanker (Thank you, C, for that delightful epithet!) would be grossly inaccurate, not to mention a little over-dramatic. But if you have five bucks to spend on coffee and a scone even once a week, then you have enough money to buy an ebook.

It's this second point that my friend and I were most passionate about in our dinner conversation. Here's the thing: The world doesn't owe you, me, or anyone else anything, and that includes ebooks. Now, if you're reading this, I like to believe I am preaching to the choir. But maybe you have a friend who isn't quite so concerned about little things like respect for creative professionals and their intellectual property. Maybe you know someone who is misguided enough to think that all authors are rich beyond the dreams of avarice. In that case, maybe next time they tell you about all these free books they just downloaded, you'll call them out, ask them if they paid for them, inform them that authors are people who need to eat and pay rent. And if you think that I don't practice what I preach, let me tell you: I have been known to call a friend a thief to her face when I learned she was pirating ebooks. So I'm not asking you to do anything I haven't done.

So there you go. Not as thoughtful and eloquent as I might like, but it's hard not to get passionate and angry about the subject, which is not good for civil discourse.

In conclusion, if you like someone's creative work, while adoring emails are always welcome, but the best way to say "thank you" is to pay them for it.

Rediscovering a groove

I just got home from a short vacation where I had almost no internet access. I cannot tell you how good that felt! I got very little writing done while on vacation, but the trip did help me get back in touch with my writer self, and that's just as good for me at this point. I'm rediscovering what routines work for me as a writer; things that have fallen to the wayside over the past couple of years. I am digging out of my rut and stepping back into my groove, and what a good feeling that is! That said, it's a delicate balance between "researching" and "procrastinating". At least I got in about four hours of writing before I got sidetracked to all those pretty websites with all that interesting information. Today, I call that a win.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve! A year ago today I was flying home from Iceland. I expect today to be much more relaxed. ;-)

I'm not much for resolutions, New Year's or otherwise, but there are things that I'm excited about today, this month, and in the coming year.

Today: I have black-eyed peas cooking in the crock pot. I missed out on this Southern good luck tradition last year, so I was determined to make it happen this year. I hope it turns out tasty!

This month: I'm back to a new session of aerials and I am determined to accomplish what's needed to move up to the next level by Session 2. (I would bore you with details, but that would be boring--and possibly nonsensical--for you.)

This year: It's the 25th anniversary season for the theatre company I work for and I am beyond excited by the slate we have planned, especially King Lear. *swoon* (Yes, I said *swoon*.) Plus, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is also doing Lear this year, and I already have tickets to see it in September. Woot!

This year, too: I have two books that will go out of print this year, and I'm determined to get them re-pubbed in a timely fashion. I'm already working on cover art for the first one, so yay for me! I have unfinished manuscripts on my computer that I plan to finish, too. Maybe it's just the sunshine out there, but I'm feeling productive today. Here's hoping it lasts.

Is there anything you're super excited about this year? What delights does 2013 hold for you?