A late-late night party post for you to wake up to.

Welcome back to the party! By now you all know we're celebrating my first print release (The Ballad of Jimothy Redwing for those of you with memories even shorter than mine ;-) ) with a Three-day Weekend Blog Party. Well, I don't know if you recall, but believe I mentioned a sneak peek at my second novel, Client Privileges. Wanna know the scoop? Then read on!

Once I sent the manuscript for Jimothy into Samhain Publishing, all I had to do was wait. And twiddle my thumbs. And wish I could control time so it would go faster. And, oh yeah, pass the time quicker by writing another book. So, without the structure of NaNoWriMo to spur me on, I began working on a new story. This one was to be about what was going on across the country while Jimothy and Ricky were getting into all sorts of trouble in the capitol city. Client Privileges is the result (although it didn't have a title until very recently, and I don't know that this one will stick. We'll have to see what my editor at Torquere has to say about it.). I began with the idea of what would happen if I delved into the life of someone connected to the conspirators in the first book. A classic "average Joe" who just happened to be living and working in a place where political strong-arming was going on and causing trouble for normal folks. What would his life be like? That average Joe turned out to be a Jonas. And I wouldn't call him "average" any more, either. But he is a regular guy. I like my heros to be a bit more ordinary than in traditional romances, you know? I like putting normal people into extraordinary circumstances and seeing how they cope. And Jonas has a lot to cope with, not the least of which is an attraction to one very handsome fellow by the name of Micah.

Well, here. How about I give you the book blurb, eh? Then you'll have a little more idea what I'm talking about.

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On the surface, Jonas Vaneau's life is ordinary. He works at the law courts during the day, spends Sabbath night with his parents and every other night with his cat, and tolerates the unending string of single women his mother invites to Sabbath dinner. But his routine life cannot provide what he most desires—at least not as long as he must continue to pretend to be the person his overbearing parents want him to be.

An unusual encounter with a seemingly ordinary brothel client causes Micah Hartshorn considerable consternation. When Jonas inexplicably breezes past his emotional defenses, Micah finds himself involved in a drama that is far beyond anything for which his professional skills have prepared him. Solving this new puzzle isn't in his plans—especially not when he has his own issues to deal with both at home and at work.

All personal problems are swept up in political unrest when new laws threaten both men's livelihoods. When even greater troubles send Jonas's world spinning beyond his control, it's up to Micah to save him from his downward spiral—if he can.

What future can Jonas and Micah hope to find together in a city turned against them?

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I'll post an unedited excerpt later in the day and maybe give you some more background if you'd like. Of if you have specific questions you'd like me to answer, I'd be happy to do so about either book. Let's do that, shall we? Got a question about either book? The writing process? Fantasy world history? Whatever you want to know, post it here. I'll answer it for you to the best of my ability. Sound like a deal? I think so! :-D

All right. I'm well knackered at the moment. It's seriously late here and I promised myself I'd shut the computer off after one hour--a time that is fast approaching. See you on the morrow. You know, after the sun rises or something. ;-) And remember, every comment you make is another entry into the contest for spiffy prizes!