Here it is. The moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of the free ecopy of I Put a Spell on You, contaning not only my short story, Play Music, Play Magic, but EIGHT MORE fabulous m/m/f stories, is...
WildePet!
Woo-hoo! Email me at maiastrong (at) maiastrong [dot] com and I'll get that sent out to you right away.
Thanks to everyone who came to party with me! I look forward to partying with you again this summer when my novella, False Dawn, is realeased!
25 February 2010
24 February 2010
Party Day Three - Release Day!
Woo-hoo! Today's the day! Play Music, Play Magic is officially released. Oh yeah, and there are other fabulous stories in this magic-themed anthology, I Put a Spell on You. As a special release day bonus, I have a "missing scene". (I can't call it a "deleted scene" because, well, it wasn't deleted; it was written later. I know, I know. Semantics. Shut up and get on with it, Maia!)
Okay, here it is. Another little taste to get you excited for the whole story!
*****
Rhys awoke with a smile on his face. Perhaps he’d been dreaming of Isaac. Yawning, he reached out under the covers, knowing that his husband’s side of the bed would have long since gone cold. As early as Isaac rose, Rhys slept late. It was now well past dawn and the sheets were chilly to his touch.
He sat up and pushed back the covers, shivering at the change of temperature. Finding his soft-soled house shoes nearby, he slipped them over his bare feet and clambered over the bed to the edge of the sleeping loft, the soft cotton flannel of his loose pants tugging against the wool of the blankets. He climbed down the ladder to the main room of the little house.
Smile still on his face, whether from forgotten dreams or a sense of what the day would bring, he went into the kitchen. On the table was a note from Isaac. Every day, as regular and reliable as the bells in the cathedral tower, he left one there.
Rhys’s smile widened as he read the single scrawled sentence. Then he set the note back on the table, placed a clean mug for tea beside it, and went to heat water. He would wash, breakfast, and set to work—and spend the day in anticipation of the sweet promise in his husband’s love note.
*****
Don't forget, you have until midnight PST tonight to comment on any blog party post to be entered to win a copy of I Put a Spell on You including Play Music, Play Magic. I'll announce the winner here tomorrow, so remember to swing by and see if you've won!
Okay, here it is. Another little taste to get you excited for the whole story!
*****
Rhys awoke with a smile on his face. Perhaps he’d been dreaming of Isaac. Yawning, he reached out under the covers, knowing that his husband’s side of the bed would have long since gone cold. As early as Isaac rose, Rhys slept late. It was now well past dawn and the sheets were chilly to his touch.
He sat up and pushed back the covers, shivering at the change of temperature. Finding his soft-soled house shoes nearby, he slipped them over his bare feet and clambered over the bed to the edge of the sleeping loft, the soft cotton flannel of his loose pants tugging against the wool of the blankets. He climbed down the ladder to the main room of the little house.
Smile still on his face, whether from forgotten dreams or a sense of what the day would bring, he went into the kitchen. On the table was a note from Isaac. Every day, as regular and reliable as the bells in the cathedral tower, he left one there.
Rhys’s smile widened as he read the single scrawled sentence. Then he set the note back on the table, placed a clean mug for tea beside it, and went to heat water. He would wash, breakfast, and set to work—and spend the day in anticipation of the sweet promise in his husband’s love note.
*****
Don't forget, you have until midnight PST tonight to comment on any blog party post to be entered to win a copy of I Put a Spell on You including Play Music, Play Magic. I'll announce the winner here tomorrow, so remember to swing by and see if you've won!
23 February 2010
Party Day Two - Music!
In Play Music, Play Magic, Wand'ring Minstrel Noula Tuomi uses music to weave a magical web around herself and her lovers. A lot of writers, me included, like to write with a soundtrack in the background. It doesn't always manifest in the end product. One of the tenderest sex scenes I've ever written was written to a soundtrack of '80s hair metal, while a light BDSM scene was written to a mix of Dar Williams songs. Yes, my brain can be a very strange place to live.
Music can have a profound effect on one's mood, but it isn't always the effect one might expect. So my question to you is, what music puts you "in the mood"? You know the mood I mean. ;-)
And don't forget, your comments are your entries to win an ebook. And guess what? It's not just Play Music, Play Magic, but the whole I Put a Spell on You anthology!
Music can have a profound effect on one's mood, but it isn't always the effect one might expect. So my question to you is, what music puts you "in the mood"? You know the mood I mean. ;-)
And don't forget, your comments are your entries to win an ebook. And guess what? It's not just Play Music, Play Magic, but the whole I Put a Spell on You anthology!
22 February 2010
Party Day One - Excerpt!
Welcome, one and all! We're partying here for the next three days in celebration of my new release, Play Music, Play Magic, part of the Torquere anthology I Put a Spell on You. This story is in the same universe as my first two books, but in a town we've only heard of in passing before. This is only a short visit to the small coastal city of Yanto (one extra entry into the drawing for the first person who can guess where that name came from), Kanbec. In this tale, you'll meet Isaac Fisher and his husband Rhys Silverthorn, and their dear friend, Wand'ring Minstrel Noula Tuomi.
Isaac and Rhys are delighted when Noula Tuomi arrives in town. Noula and Isaac have been close friends and lovers for many years, and when Rhys became a part of Isaac's life, she embraced him and his relationship to her old friend without hesitation. Now, the three share company and comfort whenever she's in town. As with every visit, Isaac hopes that she'll decide stay. But Noula is a Wand'ring Minstrel. Some Minstrels do retire and some do settle down, but will Noula? And will it be this time? Each of the trio privately ponders this question, but even these heavy thoughts can't detract from their enjoyment of one another and the magic that Noula brings.
Here's a nibble to whet your appetite.
*****
Putting such heavy thoughts aside, Rhys let himself relax into the music.
He didn't know the song she played, but it hardly mattered. Noula's music was… enchanting. The notes intertwined like a tapestry growing on the loom of a master weaver. Complex, subtle, haunting. Beautiful. He'd listened closely to every Wand'ring Minstrel he had ever come across -- here in Yanto, back in Western Zephren, and everywhere in between -- and no one he had heard could do what Noula could do. And with such a deceptively simple instrument as a recorder.
Simple. There was nothing simple about what was happening. Colors and light that had nothing to do with the candle lanterns began to swirl slowly around the edges of his vision. Rhys sighed and leaned into his husband, resting his head on Isaac's strong shoulder. Isaac reached an arm around him, kissed him on the top of his head. For that suspended moment, everything was perfect in Rhys' world.
Subtly, the tone of the music changed. Where before it had buoyed him on pillows of flannel stuffed with the softest down, now it grew sleeker and less cozy, and yet no less welcoming. He floated on the melody, rich as silk, spicy as cinnamon, and exotic as the island paradise Noula had spoken of earlier. The music flowed over his skin and into his blood, warming it from within. The heat grew and centered itself quite deliciously in his groin, and he grew hard.
Isaac's arm around him squeezed a little tighter, and Rhys opened eyes he hadn't realized had fallen shut. The colors he had seen in the room had continued behind his eyelids, and now, as he opened them, those swirls and eddies of rainbow light were there with him in the room again, too. He turned his head and looked deep into his husband's jet-black eyes, sparkling like obsidian with every flicker of light. He didn't have to look down or reach out a hand to know that Isaac felt what he felt. Craved what he craved.
Together, they turned and looked at Noula. She played on, but a knowing and eager twinkle was in her eyes.
Wordless and as one, the three of them rose from the table and headed for the ladder to the sleeping loft. Noula played the men up, bringing the tune to a suspended end as they reached the top. Pocketing her recorder, she climbed up after them, humming as she went.
*****
If you liked that, you'll love what comes next! Too bad you have to wait until Wednesday to find out what that is. ;->
Remember, comment on this or any post during the blog party to be entered to win a free copy of Play Music, Play Magic!
Isaac and Rhys are delighted when Noula Tuomi arrives in town. Noula and Isaac have been close friends and lovers for many years, and when Rhys became a part of Isaac's life, she embraced him and his relationship to her old friend without hesitation. Now, the three share company and comfort whenever she's in town. As with every visit, Isaac hopes that she'll decide stay. But Noula is a Wand'ring Minstrel. Some Minstrels do retire and some do settle down, but will Noula? And will it be this time? Each of the trio privately ponders this question, but even these heavy thoughts can't detract from their enjoyment of one another and the magic that Noula brings.
Here's a nibble to whet your appetite.
*****
Putting such heavy thoughts aside, Rhys let himself relax into the music.
He didn't know the song she played, but it hardly mattered. Noula's music was… enchanting. The notes intertwined like a tapestry growing on the loom of a master weaver. Complex, subtle, haunting. Beautiful. He'd listened closely to every Wand'ring Minstrel he had ever come across -- here in Yanto, back in Western Zephren, and everywhere in between -- and no one he had heard could do what Noula could do. And with such a deceptively simple instrument as a recorder.
Simple. There was nothing simple about what was happening. Colors and light that had nothing to do with the candle lanterns began to swirl slowly around the edges of his vision. Rhys sighed and leaned into his husband, resting his head on Isaac's strong shoulder. Isaac reached an arm around him, kissed him on the top of his head. For that suspended moment, everything was perfect in Rhys' world.
Subtly, the tone of the music changed. Where before it had buoyed him on pillows of flannel stuffed with the softest down, now it grew sleeker and less cozy, and yet no less welcoming. He floated on the melody, rich as silk, spicy as cinnamon, and exotic as the island paradise Noula had spoken of earlier. The music flowed over his skin and into his blood, warming it from within. The heat grew and centered itself quite deliciously in his groin, and he grew hard.
Isaac's arm around him squeezed a little tighter, and Rhys opened eyes he hadn't realized had fallen shut. The colors he had seen in the room had continued behind his eyelids, and now, as he opened them, those swirls and eddies of rainbow light were there with him in the room again, too. He turned his head and looked deep into his husband's jet-black eyes, sparkling like obsidian with every flicker of light. He didn't have to look down or reach out a hand to know that Isaac felt what he felt. Craved what he craved.
Together, they turned and looked at Noula. She played on, but a knowing and eager twinkle was in her eyes.
Wordless and as one, the three of them rose from the table and headed for the ladder to the sleeping loft. Noula played the men up, bringing the tune to a suspended end as they reached the top. Pocketing her recorder, she climbed up after them, humming as she went.
*****
If you liked that, you'll love what comes next! Too bad you have to wait until Wednesday to find out what that is. ;->
Remember, comment on this or any post during the blog party to be entered to win a free copy of Play Music, Play Magic!
20 February 2010
Resurfacing
This blog has been sorely neglected of late, and for that I apologize. I've been scattering my energy, and therefore my focus, in too many directions lately and when that happens, something inevitably falls through the cracks. But there is hope! In fact there is...
A BLOG PARTY FOR MY NEW RELEASE!
That's right. My short story, Play Music, Play Magic, is coming out in the anthology I Put a Spell on You from Torquere on 24 February. (Holy crap! That's WEDNESDAY! *eep!*) So check in Monday through Wednesday this week for an excerpt (just one - it's a short story, after all), perhaps a visit with the characters, and a bonus scene on release day. And, of course, there will be a CONTEST. Just leave a comment on any of the party posts and you'll be entered to win a free download of Play Music, Play Magic.
I'm looking foward to partying with you guys!
A BLOG PARTY FOR MY NEW RELEASE!
That's right. My short story, Play Music, Play Magic, is coming out in the anthology I Put a Spell on You from Torquere on 24 February. (Holy crap! That's WEDNESDAY! *eep!*) So check in Monday through Wednesday this week for an excerpt (just one - it's a short story, after all), perhaps a visit with the characters, and a bonus scene on release day. And, of course, there will be a CONTEST. Just leave a comment on any of the party posts and you'll be entered to win a free download of Play Music, Play Magic.
I'm looking foward to partying with you guys!
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