Category Archives: Books
A Christmas Sale!
Which has much less Darren McGavin than A Christmas Story, but bear with me. In the spirit of the year (and because all of us need a bit of a lift right now) I’m putting both Two Thrones books on sale for 99¢ until New Year’s Eve. So if you’re new to the joint kingdoms of Hellas and Ypres, this is the perfect chance to check them out.
Happy Friday, and a snippet from Intersection
Well, it’s the end of the work, and for most folks who observe Christmas the holidays will probably kick into high gear this weekend. Since the bulk of my decorating is now done, I thought I would celebrate with a teaser from Intersection. Some background: after finding out that her first love Ben Drake was still alive and being held at a Gold Rush-themed adventure park, Evie Contreras rescues him with the help of a mysterious organization that has been manipulating her academic and work career. Now held by them, she learns that cyborgs exist and Ben has been turned into one during his time at the park. She steals a security badge from one of the base officers to break into medbay and get the truth from Ben. Enjoy!
This time, the medbay doors opened obediently at her approach. Evie had been afraid that the base AI might stop her. Apparently her stolen RFID clip was enough to lull the AI into a sense of complacency.
Not after this, though. If Ballardie didn’t tell Lilith to check facial recognition against RFID codes from that point on, Evie would eat her tablet. She had one chance to see Ben, and she wasn’t about to waste it.
Pretend like you belong. That was easy enough; straight spine, a slightly bored but alert expression. She grabbed a pile of sheets from a pile on a small cart and carried them as a prop. The hallway ended at a round station manned by a very handsome, very bored man in red scrubs. His curly black hair had been cut short, and he needed a shave judging by the heavy five o’clock shadow, but his celadon eyes lit up when he saw her.
“Hel-lo,” he said in a drawled accent. “Did someone finally hear my plea for more help?”
“That’s what I was told,” Evie said brightly. “I’m Ally. Where do you need me?”
“Oh, my.” The man gave her a slow up and down that was lascivious and amusing at the same time. “Don’t ask me questions like that, love. I’m still on call for two more hours.”
She snorted, glancing at the ancient whiteboard propped up on the station’s counter. It had to be a list of patient rooms. “I bet you say that to all the new volunteers.”
“Only the ones who’ve stolen my heart.” He plunked his hand over his breastbone. “Promise me I’ll see you later, Ally. It may be the only thing that gets me through this deathly dull shift.”
She allowed herself a brief, amused grin. This one was a charmer, which made things easier and harder at the same time. Easier because he’d let her slide past. Harder because he’d definitely check out her ass as she walked away. “No promises…”
“Samir. Dr. Samir Haddad.” Something on his console beeped and he grimaced. “Oh, damn. Duty calls, love. I’ll catch you later?”
“You can try.” She turned and walked around the station, resisting the urge to hurry.
The station sat at the crosspoint of four corridors like a bull’s eye. Luck and left-to-right reading habits were with her and B corridor was opposite the one from the entrance. She headed down there, counting rooms until she came to B4.
The board had Drake, B printed neatly next to the B4 slot. Licking dry lips, she grabbed the door handle. The worst they would do was kick her out, maybe yell at her for boosting Rob’s RFID wand. She’d take that and much worse to be able to talk to Ben, her Ben, not some tarted up artificial persona that someone had programmed onto a chip.
She opened the door, ready to smile.
And stopped.
Her first thought was that she’d gotten the rooms mixed up somehow. Because the thing on the bed, it looked like Ben, yes, but it was missing both arms and everything from the middle of its chest on down. The holes in the body had been sealed neatly with glistening gelatinous caps, and a variety of tubes and wires ran from them to a mix of equipment arranged around the bed. Some of the tech she recognized from her own work, equipment regularly used in cybertech. The rest looked more like it belonged in a hospital room, with a person.
Not here. Not with this … mockery.
He really was an android, something in the back of her mind whispered. They lied to you, they all lied to you—
The Ben-thing opened its eyes. And looked at her with the most hesitant, heartbreaking smile. “Evie?”
She shook her head. Why was it lying to her? Why did it have to use Ben’s voice?
It glanced down, craning its neck. Blue eyes went wide, filling with horror. “No. Oh, God, no!”
She choked back a sob, shaking her head.
He looked up. Color flooded his face, making his eyes seem to glow as he stared at her. And then the horror disappeared, replaced by incandescent fury. “Get out!” he shouted, raising his head off the bed far enough to jostle some of the wires and tubes. Somewhere an alarm began to bleep. “Goddamn you, Evie, get out! Don’t look at me!”
She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to see any of this. Screwing her eyes shut, she fumbled for the door handle behind her.
“Get out!”
There it was. She stepped backwards, away from the impossibility on the bed. Away from the last, final hope she’d allowed herself to have.
She backed into someone. Turning, she looked up into Samir’s now-grim face.
He grabbed her arm, his grip not ungentle but impossible to escape. “I think we need to have a chat,” he drawled. “Don’t you agree, Ally?”
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like A Clean House
Yeah, no, I’m not celebrating Christmas just yet, unlike my sister whose house looks like Santa came all over it from mid-November through the first week of January. That meme at right? That’s us. I’m Theoden. She’s Buddy Elf. No, I don’t understand how we’re related, either.
That being said, I am continuing my “mourning for my country” cleaning kick, which means that every vacuum in this house has had its filter cleaned, the downstairs AC system filter has been replaced, the dining room has been cleaned, dusted, and vacuumed, most of the living room has been cleaned, dusted, and vacuumed (I still have to tackle the end table next to Ramón’s seat), the kitchen has remained spotless for an entire week, and the place smells great. My core muscles are also aching like a bitch, so today I’m focusing on paperwork (paying bills, filing receipts, mailing off stuff to various folks), writing, and critting a story for my writing group tonight. By the time Friday rolls around the entire downstairs should be clean so I can put up all the Christmas ornaments on time for once.
Of course, I still have to clean upstairs, but hell, even that’s getting done bit by bit. By the end of the month this entire place may not only be decorated, but spotless as well. Whoa.
Flipping back to writing news, Ramón used that huge brain of his to break a little problem I’ve been wrestling with for the past few days (how would rich people shop thirty years from now) and in doing so significantly expanded the background of Intersection AND gave me more insight into my heroine Evie. Looking forward to tackling that scene later this afternoon, I am. I’ve also been having a lot of fun having the occasional Twitter exchange with the lovely actor who inspired me to write this thing in the first place, so I’ve got that going for me as well.
Intersection Snippet – Evie goes for it
After a doctor’s visit that confirmed I do have a sinus infection (yay colds that lead to bacterial gunk!), I now have antibiotics and a steroid shot to open up everything in my nasal passages, which means I’m feeling way better than I have since Thursday, woo. To celebrate, here’s a snippet from my new SF erotic romance, Intersection (Pacifica Rising 1).
Some background: in 2048, global warming and civil unrest have devastated civilization and rewritten the political map of Earth. Corporate-owned Protectorates now act as nation-states, and the Pacifica Protectorate is one of the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful regions on the planet, stretching from the former location of Seattle down to just north of San Jose. Pacifica is run by a technocracy, and its inhabitants are either Board Members, Shareholders or Employees. Those who lose their jobs are either forced to leave the Protectorate for the Outlands or can volunteer for reclamation work in the Northern Territory, which was badly damaged by the Great Shake of 2023. Just turned 19, Evie Contreras is a brilliant young woman about to head off to technical college. Ben Drake is 31 and the Pacifica Protectorate Defense Forces captain who was the best friend of her older (and now-deceased) brother Christo. A widower, Ben has hired Evie to babysit for his 6-year-old daughter Ally when he has to go on patrol. But Evie’s feelings for Ben are anything but professional…
“I’ll have Ally packed up and ready to go tomorrow.”
Evie nodded. She already had the other bed in her room made up with clean sheets and a blanket. Ally had stayed over often enough that everyone knew the drill. “Do you know how long you’ll be gone?”
Ben gestured vaguely. “It’s supposed to be two weeks, but you know that can change. Will that be all right with your folks?”
She had to grin at that. “Mama’s already cooking up everything Ally likes. She loves having her stay with us. And as far as Papa’s concerned, the more kids in the house, the better.”
Something in his expression flickered at that and she bit her lip, wishing she hadn’t put it that way. Papa would be over the moon if she made him an abuelo, and Mama would be even more thrilled. But they would expect her to get married first like a good girl before she started presenting them with grandchildren. And in her heart of hearts she couldn’t imagine someone like Ben marrying a 19-year-old wannabe tech whose parents worked as personal servants.
“Anyway, we’re all set to have her, don’t worry about that,” she said quickly. “You just take care of yourself.”
“Roger that.” He grinned at her, his smile bright even in the dimness of the car interior. “Thanks for everything you do, Evie. I don’t think I tell you enough how much I appreciate you.”
Her heart glowed at the praise. “You’re welcome,” she said, trying to make it sound casual. “I—I mean, we—appreciate what you’re doing for all of us, being in the Defense Forces.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly, looking away. Neither of them said her brother Christo’s name, but he was there anyway. “Anyway, I better get going.”
“Right.” She reached out for the door handle, then paused. Serving in the Defense Forces was a dangerous job. Christo was proof of that. And while Ben was an experienced soldier, there was never a guarantee that he’d come back from a deployment. She was of legal age and had her contraceptive implant. And the worst, the absolute worst he would do was push her away. It would break her heart, true, but it would break her heart even worse if he never came back and didn’t know how she felt—
She leaned back and kissed him. His lips were warm and firm against her own, and this close she could smell him, the light scent of body wash and something underneath that smelled like fresh-cut wood, salt, and something her mind simply labeled “Ben.”
She pulled back, just enough to see his eyes. The light blue had almost completely disappeared, pushed into a thin ring around a dark center.
And then he was kissing her. His arms slid around her, pulling her in tight as his mouth came down on hers, eager and hungry. It was nothing like kissing guys her own age. It was much, much, much better.
So, that happened
Wiser (and cooler) heads have already spilled lakes of electronic ink on the subject of the US presidential election, so I won’t continue the discussion here other than to say that my candidate did not win, and I am concerned with the direction I see the country taking over the next four years. But I’m also taking the advice I have recently received to heart, and am getting involved politically with local groups to make sure that public servants who align more with my interests are elected in local and state elections, and to the House and Senate in 2018.So I have that going for me.
On a separate but related note, an individual on Twitter gloated to me that “at least the SJWs are gone and that’s all that matters to me.” To which I reply, “Buckle up, buttercup. This is just act one.”
If you’re still with me after all that, I thank you. Progress continues on Intersection, and I should have a first draft done by November 30, which means that I may have it ready for purchase before Christmas. Not that it’s a holiday story, but it means you’ll have a big shiny new SF erotic romance new series to sink your teeth into while trying to ignore the shouting over the Thanksgiving dinner table. And it even has cyborgs, because everyone likes cyborgs!
Anyway, no rest for the wicked — back to work!
Want a Halloween Deal? #HalloweenReads
BOO! Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about the awesome Halloween deal the lovely and talented Jocelyn Dex has set up for you at http://www.jocelyndex.com/halloween-deals.html. All the books pictured above are on sale between 99¢ and $2.99 from October 28 to November 1 (and you may notice that my coyote shifter romance Trickster is among them). So grab the chance to enjoy some amazing romance while waiting for trick or treaters this year!
Mid Week Tease: Palace of Scoundrels #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Yeah I sort of screwed up last week by not posting because I had told myself to set up a post since I was going to be busy traveling to Ontario for the Evernight writers’ retreat … and promptly forgot to make the post. My bad. So in apology, have a longer teaser from my new MF fantasy romance Palace of Scoundrels (Two Thrones Book 2). This teaser features Lord Tomas Villiers, the Winter Wolf and protector of the northern border of Ypres, and his beloved Lady Sibeal de Clerq, who’s been engaged to someone else against her will. They’re hoping that King Matthias can do something about that; in the meantime, Sibeal is hiding with Tomas at his hunting lodge, and being in such close confines is making things … difficult.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Spring has sprung in the island kingdom of Hellas, but with no signs of an occupant for the royal nursery Queen Danaë is starting to worry about her own fertility. Her concerns aren’t helped by the arrival of the legendarily conniving Dowager Queen Atilia of Illium–or the woman’s handsome grandson Prince Marcus, on the run after being accused of poisoning his older brother.
In the neighboring kingdom of Ypres, Danaë’s royal husband Matthias is dealing with dangerous family politics and a wolfish duke who has kidnapped a young noblewoman for immoral purposes. Or has he? Can Matthias ward off the threat of civil war, outwit his relatives, and deal with a charming rival in his wife’s own palace?
Tomas Villiers was used to sleeping rough while on patrols with the cavalry. He prided himself on being able to catnap in a downpour with nothing but a woolen cloak for shelter.
And yet, in a wide, comfortable bed made up with the finest linen and softest blankets, he couldn’t get to sleep. Too comfortable, belike. I’d feel better if I bedded down in front of the fire.
Or out in the fields. Or anywhere other than this hunting lodge. Then again, where he truly wanted to sleep was his own bed in Wolf’s Den, with his legally wedded wife curled up in his arms and his men stationed on the battlements to repel any intruders. But that was looking more and more like an impossibility, if he insisted on Sibeal as his wife.
He’d known taking her from Riens was madness, but it was madness she had shared with him willingly. Her frustration and fear that her mother would force her to marry Clement Reynard served as a spur to grab her and ride hell for leather away from Lierdhe. She had assumed they were riding north for Kelles, but he knew it would be the first place the Lierdhe men at arms would look for him, assuming her maid was questioned and revealed who her mistress was meeting. Sibeal swore that the girl knew nothing, but Tomas wasn’t about to risk it.
Instead, they made for his family’s hunting lodge in the hills north of Mons. He had paused only long enough to send one of his men with a message to Kaarsen telling him to send servants and guards to the lodge. Afterwards they’d ridden through the night, only stopping to change horses at an inn with an attached stable. Poor Sibeal was almost falling out of her saddle with weariness by the time they reached the lush hill country and the lodge.
The first day, it was easy enough to forget that she was staying in the room across from his—they were both exhausted and sleep was far more demanding than anything else. The servants and men from Wolf’s Den arrived the next day. Tomas busied himself with dispersing the guards around the lodge while Sibeal declared herself fit for chatelaine duties and spent the afternoon planning meals and a cleaning schedule with the maid and cook.
As they settled into a routine, waiting for Kaarsen to approach the king and make his request for a visit, Tomas became more aware of Sibeal’s presence in the lodge. Traces of her scent hung in the hallway between their bedrooms, an enticing fragrance of rose and jasmine that seemed to emanate from her skin. He started listening for the sound of her voice, wanting to hear her discussing matters with the servants, or singing to herself as she found little tasks to do.
And every time she appeared, he had to fight the urge to sweep her into his arms, carry her off to his bedroom, strip the gown from her sweetly curved body and make love to her for the rest of the day. He knew full well she shared the same frustration, judging from the longing looks she would give him over a meal or across the great room.
But his beautiful little bride-to-be had the passionate nature of her people and kept discussing what she wanted in whispered little asides and hints. He had been forced to retire to his room more than once, there to shove his trousers down and take himself in hand, quickly stroking his aching cock. And always he imagined Sibeal naked and breathless underneath him, white fingers digging into his back, perspiration beading her beautiful face as she begged him for more.
Finally he would spurt over his fingers, the abrupt release of pressure in his balls followed by a momentary relief and a deep-seated discomfort that he refused to acknowledge as shame. Not so much that he was forced to relieve himself, he told himself, but that he was doing it so damned quickly, like a boy barely into manhood. I am Duke of Kelles, and I will show restraint, dammit.
Even if it killed him.
Finally, Kaarsen had sent word that King Matthias would be arriving for the requested visit. Instead of solving matters as Tomas had hoped, he made things even worse by admitting that he couldn’t order Lady de Clerq to lift that damned spell of barrenness. Knowing that Sibeal couldn’t get pregnant made her even more damnably desirable, ironic as it seemed. He could get up, go into her room, and spend the rest of the night learning how to make her moan his name, and there would be no wagging tongues after the birth of his heir. Except that he had promised the king that he wouldn’t take her virginity, and a Villiers’s word was adamantine.
A low rumble of thunder sounded overhead. The storm that had been threatening that afternoon was finally making an appearance. Good. Maybe it’ll soothe me enough so that I can sleep.
The sound of his chamber door creaking open was almost lost in another roll of thunder. Still, Tomas heard it and sat up, reaching for the dagger he always kept under his pillow. “Who’s there?” he demanded.
“It’s me,” a feminine voice whispered. “Did I wake you?”
Every muscle in his body went slack with relief. He peered at the shape revealed by a flash of lightning. “Sibeal? Sweetheart, what are you doing in here?”
“The lightning woke me up,” she said. He felt the mattress sink as she climbed in beside him. “Can I stay with you?”
“I—” And she was in his arms, snuggling close. By all the gods, how did she manage that so quickly? “Sibeal,” he said, trying to edge his lower body away from her so that she wouldn’t know he was naked under the covers, “this is improper. You need to go back to your own room.”
He could only see her outline in the dimness, but he imagined her smiling up at him, eyes sparkling with mischief. “But I don’t want to. It’s cold and drafty in there, and I’ll be warm in here with you.” Her small hand spread out on his chest. “You don’t want me to fall ill, do you?”
He captured her hand in his own. It felt soft and warm. “You’re dreadful at making excuses, do you know that?”
“I know.” He felt more than heard her sigh. “I wanted to know what it was like to lie in your arms one time. It may be the only opportunity I get.”
Despair and fury made his gut roil. “Don’t say that, sweetheart. It’s not over yet,” he said. “I won’t let you marry Reynard, I swear it.”
“If the king orders it, what will you do? Give up your dukedom and run away with me? You know you can’t do that—you owe it to your people to stay.” She laughed, the sound soft and sad. “And even if we did run away, I still wouldn’t be able to have children. And I want them so, Tomas.”
“I know.” He held her close, frustrated by his inability to protect her. “Let me go talk to your mother, explain how we both feel—”
She shook her head. “You didn’t see her when I told her I couldn’t marry Clement. It was as if every bit of love and light had gone out of her. She frightened me, Tomas. I don’t know what else she would have done to me if I’d stayed.”
Tomas kissed her temple. “I can’t lose you, sweetheart. I’ll make this right somehow.”
The warm body in his arms clutched him tight for a moment. “You may not be able to. And if you can’t, this may be the only night we have together.” She raised her head and lightning flashed outside, allowing him a split second to see the tear tracks on her face. “If I can’t spend the rest of my life with you, then give me this night with you. Let me have a memory I can treasure for the rest of my days.”
He fought the sudden, overwhelming urge to turn her onto her back and make fierce love to her. “Sibeal, I promised the king—”
“That you wouldn’t take my maidenhead, I know.” She touched his mouth, tracing his lips. “But there are other things we can do.”
He ground his teeth. Already he was starting to harden, and twisted further away to hide that fact. “I’m begging you, sweetheart, don’t do this to me. I can’t touch you and not want to … to take you.”
“You’ll have me,” she soothed. “We just can’t do that one thing. I won’t leave you aching, I promise.” Before he could stop her she’d shifted across him, straddling his naked thighs. The soft curls at the junction of her thighs brushed his heated flesh in the movement and he bit back a groan.
“Trust me,” she murmured, stretching forward to kiss him. With a sour thump, he realized that she was right, this might be the only night they had together if the king couldn’t help them. Gods damn me, but I need her too much.
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to view this Linky Tools list…
Weekend? What means this word, weekend?
I have literally spent the last four hours working on promo — filling out interviews, giving feedback on other people’s posts for #SexySnippets, checking numbers, tweaking tag lines, and prepping ads. Even Ramón came over, kissed my head, and said, “This writing dodge doesn’t really give you a day off, does it?” When the late Sir Pterry Pratchett told me that half of every pro writer’s day is full of nothing but paperwork, I had a hard time believing it. Now I see just how right he was.
Still better than my old job, though, so I’ve got that going for me.
Also, four days after release I finally have the perfect tag line for Palace of Scoundrels: “Kidnapping, poison, and sex–oh, my!” Yeah, well, it made me giggle. And speaking of Palace, I’m running a little contest on Amazon and giving away ten copies of the book for free — no purchase necessary, all you have to do is follow me on Amazon to enter. To enter, head here — https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/08ecb4be57cf556c — and best of luck!
Palace of Scoundrels is live!
After a brief hiccup in regard to SEO terms (you try to input a book cleanly while playing with a rod and reel toy to entertain a loud orange cat, I dare you), the Big River finally came through as of this afternoon, which means the deliciously sexy sequel to Empress of Storms and book #2 in my Two Thrones series is now available from Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and Smashwords. I’ll be loading the print version to CreateSpace this weekend, but in the meantime I’m making promo images and indulging myself in a Dragonslayer, the awesome drink I had at Medieval Times. My version is made from half a cup of Talenti mango sorbet, chilled water (you can use soda water if you like), and a shot of Malibu rum. SO damn good.
Anything else? Okay. I’m gonna go sleep now. Yay!
Houston, we have liftoff!
I pulled the trigger and the Palace of Scoundrels file and cover are now at Amazon awaiting approval. I’ll post links here as soon as I get them. I’m currently setting up the Smashwords and ARe files, and again, links when they’re live. For those of you who prefer to hold a book in your hands, the print version will be up at CreateSpace by this weekend.
In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak of the cover. Enjoy!
Nicola Cameron Writes 