Category Archives: Books
I should have known this was going to happen
Did I mention that I had an absolute ball coming up with the three Olympic Cove graphics on the Merchandise page? Because man, I did. The only problem with designing logos and such is that 1) while it’s a huge amount of fun because I get to dream up advertising graphics for imaginary companies/entities (“Ooh, what can I do for Trickster Technologies? Would the Molly Girl have nose art? Maybe Mayhew Nursery’s slogan could be, ‘Putting a touch of magic in every garden.'”), 2) it takes away from actual writing/editing time. Granted, I don’t have THAT many things I can put up there (yet), but I will have to find some kind of balance between Photoshop and Scrivener.
It doesn’t help that I just petitioned Ramón to go get Assassin’s Creed because it really, really looks like fun. Rod for my own back, I swear.
And of course I also still have to come up with a proper logo for myself. I like the idea of an outline profile of a smiling woman with her chin propped on one hand, and her long curling hair has the outline of a sexy man in it. But that will take some time to do in Illustrator, and I’m supposed to be editing both the Planet Alpha story AND Breaker Zone and getting them off to Evernight before 8/13.
I really need clones. Or a keeper.
Feedback needed for Olympic Cove t-shirt designs
As part of my campaign to promote the Olympic Cove series and provide nifty swag for people, I came up with these mockups for t-shirt designs. Whatcha think?
So, just had my 48th birthday
And it was lovely — Ramón gave me a lingerie shopping spree as my present (woohoo!), and I got tons of birthday wishes all over social media so I was quite the happy camper. Would have been even happier if I’d been at SDCC or RWA14, but I’m going to London this year for Worldcon so I can’t really complain. Plus there’s always next year, right? (Although when a friend of mine at SDCC got an impromptu picture with both Jared Padalecki and a somewhat tiddly Misha Collins, I may have turned a slight shade of chartreuse.)
In writing news, I’m plowing ahead on my Planet Alpha submission and I’ll have a second teaser up tomorrow for MidWeek Tease. Hope nobody minds a big action scene at the end — well, hey, if you kidnap an Alphan warrior’s human bondmate, you have to expect him and his Xyran mate to open a can of alien whoopass on you, right? Fingers crossed that Evernight feels the same way. Once that’s off, I’ll get to work editing Breaker Zone with an eye on submitting it by August 13. After THAT, I go back to work on Behind the Iron Cross so that I can get it making the agent rounds in September. Plus people have been asking for Trickster and Two to Tango sequels.
Arrgh. Why do I have to sleep?
Mid Week Tease: Two to Tango #MWTease #MidWeekTease
Happy Hump Day! With Breaker Zone currently cooling before the editing process, I thought I’d post a teaser from my M/M SF romp Two to Tango, currently available from Evernight Publishing and other purveyors of fine erotic romance. Let’s just say the scene speaks for itself, shall we?
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Rory Maclellan, aka the Highlander, is one of the most successful interstellar art thieves out there. He’s careful, professional, and plans his heists down to the microsecond. Surprisingly, he also has a conscience. So when he runs into a suicidal museum worker during his latest job, he has no choice but to stun the man and rescue him from certain death.
Dmitri Grigoryev was an up-and-coming exoarchaeologist until a disastrous dig left his career in tatters. Hungry, broke, and about to be laid off from the only job he’s been able to find in the last three years, he never expected a dashing thief to come along and save his life.
With interstellar police on their tail, Rory and Dmitri reluctantly join forces for a major heist. But will their simmering attraction get in the way, or prove that they were meant to be together?
###
Minutes later they were upstairs in the family wing, bedroom door closed and locked behind them. Rory was busily stripping Dmitri out of his coat and waistcoat while Dmitri had his fingers carded in Rory’s hair, trying to hold him still as they kissed frenetically.
“Did I mention how fucking sexy you are when you dance?” Rory muttered against his mouth. “I swear to God, I thought I was going to get hard right then and there. Which, by the way, is pretty damned embarrassing in a kilt.”
“It was your idea to tango,” Dmitri said, licking his lower lip before taking it in his teeth and tugging gently. “And you weren’t the only one getting hard.”
“Good.” Rory’s hand snaked down between them, cupping his groin and squeezing gently. Dmitri closed his eyes at the flash of harsh-edged pleasure, thrusting into Rory’s grip. “Because I want you hard, doc. Naked and hard and on your back under me, legs over my shoulders, begging me to fuck you.”
The command sent a zing of pure need through Dmitri. “I thought you liked to bottom.”
“Normally I do. But I’m feeling a little domineering right now, and I really want to fuck you.” Rory eased up, looking absurdly hopeful. “Is that okay?”
“Bozhe moi, yes.”
They tumbled onto the bed together, struggling out of their clothes in between kisses. Dmitri ran a hand up Rory’s thigh and underneath his kilt, cupping his balls and rolling them gently. Rory tipped his head back, making a low, hungry noise.
“Like that?” Dmitri said, amused.
“You know I do.”
“How about this?” He shifted his grip, sliding it up Rory’s thickening shaft until he could run his thumb around the head. There was already a thin slick there, and he wanted to lick it off his thumb. “Yes, you definitely like that,” he crooned.
“Fucking tease,” Rory groaned back. “Let’s see how you like it.”
Dmitri abruptly found himself flipped onto his back with a half-naked and very aroused Scot on top of him. Grinning, Rory tore open his shirt and nipped his way across Dmitri’s pecs, feasting on the tiny, hard nipples. The hot, wet sensation of Rory’s mouth sent darts of pleasure through him, and he moaned in agreement as Rory drifted down, following the trail of dark hair to his waistband.
“Okay, these have got to go,” Rory growled, ripping at his breeches. The tight fabric resisted, and Dmitri finally had to arch upwards, lifting his ass off the bedspread, in order to let Rory pull them off. “No more breeches, dammit.”
“They were your idea, remember?” Dmitri protested, then gasped as Rory’s mouth descended on his naked cock. Heat, wetness, and a velvet tongue slicking across that sensitive spot just under the head made him arch again. “Oh, God. Yes.”
Rory started sucking him in earnest, head bobbing greedily between his thighs to the accompaniment of some truly obscene slurping and suckling sounds. A wet finger slid under his balls, then farther back until it pressed against his rim.
Eyes closed, Dmitri pushed outward and was rewarded with a brief, sweet burn as he was penetrated.
The finger rotated, easing deeper in time with Rory’s deep throating, until it touched something that set off white stars in Dmitri’s vision. He gasped and cursed in Russian, grinding down on the teasing digit.
Rory pulled off, licking his lips. “I found your prostate,” he sang.
“I noticed, dammit,” Dmitri grunted. “More, now.”
“God, I love it when you’re bossy.”
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I declare this book DONE
And that’s it for Breaker Zone! Final length was 104,949 words. Now I let it sit for a week while I work on some woefully overdue projects, then I start wielding the Editorial Machete on July 21st.
And here for your visual delight are two of the most beautiful words in the English language.
Just in case you thought a writer’s life was a never-ending cycle of literary glamor
So I’m drenched in sweat from having to clean up a puddle of cat pee on the bay window ledge in the kitchen (which requires me to climb up ON THE COUNTER to reach it as it’s a deep window that is directly behind the sink. At this point I am still in my jammies, haven’t taken my meds or eaten breakfast yet, just so you get the full picture). Once I’m up there, I have to wipe everything down with enzyme cleaner and then water, climb back down, add more dirt to the large pot that Jemma mistakenly used as a litterbox (decorative stones will be added to the top so that none of them can dig in it) and two other pots because what the hell, might as well fill all of them while I have the potting soil out, clean all the excess dirt from the original digging and my own work off the sink and counters, sweep the floor, clean the litterboxes, spritz the food bowls and water bowls, and mediate Jemma and Jessie growling and chasing each other all over the kitchen and living room With Intent.
If that wasn’t enough, I then hear a knock at the door. While I’m still in my jammies. Whee. I open it a crack to see the landscaping guy whom I’d called on Tuesday, apologizing for not calling first but he was in the neighborhood so… One quick-change into yoga pants and a t-shirt later, I’m giving him a tour of Casa Cameron and showing him all the stuff that needs to be done. He promises to call me next week with an estimate, and I see him off.
I then realize it’s 12:40 PM and I have to get off to my Monday writing meet-up with two friends. Still haven’t had my meds or breakfast yet, note. I pop the meds and head off to the meetup, resigning myself to a carb-laden meal because I have to eat SOMETHING and soon or things will get ugly.
Got 1500 words done on Breaker Zone but I have a battle/rescue scene to plot out and have to come back home for that so I can blast the Pacific Rim soundtrack over the headphones while I write. Jessie is sleeping upstairs and Jemma is somewhere around here, I don’t know where. And as long as it stays quiet, I don’t care.
Is the day over with, yet?
Mid Week Tease: Breaker Zone #MWTease #MidWeekTease
Happy Hump Day! It’s time for another dramatic scene from my current WIP Breaker Zone. In this teaser, Nick has been kidnapped by the insane Nereid Thetis and is trying to treat a poisoned demigoddess with the help of Asclepius’s Rod and its resident snake/assistant Pythia. Unfortunately, things are not going well…
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
With his life in ruins thanks to a psychotic ex, Dr. Nick Gardiner winds up at Olympic Cove looking for sanctuary (and free beer) with his friend Ian. The last thing he expects to find is Ian living with two redheaded sea lords and learning how to be a storm god. Adding to the confusion is a wounded merman named Aidan who washes up in the cove, requiring Nick’s professional help. Nick soon learns that the handsome mer and his partner Liam have their own plans for the ER doctor — to claim him as their agapetos, their destined mate, and fulfill his need to submit.
A chance encounter at a local junk shop reveals that Nick has his own role to play in Ian’s battle against the insane Nereid Thetis. Under the reluctant mentorship of Chiron, Nick must master the use of the Rod of Asclepius if he wants to rescue his mates from a ghastly fate and help Ian save the planet.
###
The goddess gazed sadly at him through the bars. “You can’t stop it, can you?” she asked softly.
“I—” He closed his mouth before he had to lie. “This is something I’ve never dealt with before. I don’t think I can stop it.”
Claire’s head dropped forward, and she took a shuddering breath. “So be it. Then kill me.”
Nick recoiled. “What?”
“Kill me.” Her head came back up and her eyes were huge in the dim cabin. “Don’t let Thetis turn me into one of her creatures. Be merciful and put me beyond her reach.”
You can’t do that, Nicholas.
God damn it, Pythia, I wasn’t planning on it, he shouted in his head.
No, that’s not what I meant. Claire is a goddess — a minor one, true, but fully divine. And as such, immortal. Even if you ran her through, she would heal. Cut off her head, and the pieces would rejoin. You cannot kill a goddess.
He shook his head, horrified at the snake’s words.
“Why not?” Claire’s expression changed at his gesture, becoming a mix of pleading and anger. “I’m asking you to do this. To leave me to Thetis’s mercy would be far more cruel than killing me.”
“No, you don’t understand. I can’t kill you. You’re immortal.”
Her grip on the bar tightened. “There must be something you can do,” she said. “For Gaia’s sake, human, don’t leave me like this!”
Nicholas.
What?
There is nothing you can do. But there is something she can do. Sadness permeated Pythia’s words. It will be difficult, but it will free her from her form.
Death was something every doctor fought as long as possible. But Nick had seen too many patients turned into vegetables, dependent on life support, to believe that extreme measures always had to be employed. And in this case, Claire really was looking at a fate worse than death. What is it?
She can make the choice only one other god has ever made, and voluntarily give up her immortality.
What? Which god did that?
Pythia’s tongue flickered once. Your tutor, Chiron.
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Happy 4th of July Weekend
Or for the rest of you in the world, the first weekend in July. And how will I be celebrating my nation’s Independence Day, you ask? By taking care of a friend’s five cats while she’s on vacation, including insulin shots for the diabetic one. Because dammit, if I’m going to be called a Crazy Cat Lady I’m going to bloody well earn the title.
Breaker Zone is SO close to being finished. Working, working, working…
Mid Week Tease: Breaker Zone #MWTease #MidWeekTease
Happy Hump Day! It’s time for some more sexytimes from my current WIP Breaker Zone. In this teaser, Nick, Aidan and Liam have finally gotten their mating marks, just in time for a visit from the mother-in-law. Whee…
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
With his life in ruins thanks to a psychotic ex, Dr. Nick Gardiner winds up at Olympic Cove looking for sanctuary (and free beer) with his friend Ian. The last thing he expects to find is Ian living with two redheaded sea lords and learning how to be a storm god. Adding to the confusion is a wounded merman named Aidan who washes up in the cove, requiring Nick’s professional help. Nick soon learns that the handsome mer and his partner Liam have their own plans for the ER doctor — to claim him as their agapetos, their destined mate, and fulfill his need to submit.
A chance encounter at a local junk shop reveals that Nick has his own role to play in Ian’s battle against the insane Nereid Thetis. Under the reluctant mentorship of Chiron, Nick must master the use of the Rod of Asclepius if he wants to rescue his mates from a ghastly fate and help Ian save the planet.
###
They were just finishing up breakfast when Liam got an odd look on his face. Rising, he went to the kitchen window that overlooked the beach. “Oh, no.”
Nick swallowed a mouthful of toast. “What?”
“We’re about to have visitors.” Liam winced. “I was afraid of this.”
Eyebrows up, Aidan joined the other mer at the window. He scowled at whatever he saw. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Slightly worried now, Nick stood up and went to the window. Just offshore he could see three bodies rising out of the water. “Friends of yours?”
“Not really,” Aidan said flatly.
“Aid,” Liam chided him, before turning to Nick. “I was hoping we’d be able to put this off a little longer, but she tends to be very persistent when it comes to me.”
“She?” Nick could now see that the middle figure was a woman wearing a sarong-style dress made out of what looked like a finely woven fishing net belted at the waist with a cord. It hid absolutely nothing, and even from that distance he could tell that their visitor was built like a fitness model. Graying blonde hair was held back from her face with an elaborate braid, and she wore a more elaborate version of Liam and Aidan’s thong necklaces. “Who’s that?”
Liam sighed. “My mother.”
His head snapped to the tall mer. “That’s your mother?”
“Unfortunately,” Aidan grumbled. “Looks like she came armed, too.”
Two males flanked Liam’s mother. One of them wore a mer’s thong necklace and more of that netting material casually looped around his waist, while the other, a strongly built brunet with piercing dark eyes, had a whorled shell strapped diagonally across his chest. He also wore lightweight metal armor in a shell pattern on his shoulders and arms, and an abbreviated helmet that was comprised of a headband, noseguard, and a rigid mesh over the crown. While the merman’s trident was silver, his was a flat black.
Liam reached over, squeezing Nick’s shoulder. “The one in the armor is Kasos, one of the triton commanders,” he murmured. “If he’s here with my mother, this isn’t a social call. We better get this over with.”
He headed to the back door, and Aidan fell in behind him. Adding an in-depth conversation about mer culture to his expanding mental To Do list, Nick followed his mates outside and down to the beach, where the new arrivals waited for them.
Liam stopped a few feet away, giving his mother a curiously formal nod. “Mother. I didn’t expect you to come here.”
Closer up, Nick could see the family resemblance. Mother and son had the same hazel blue eyes and elegant cheekbones. But where Liam’s face could break into dimples when he smiled, the mermaid wore a remote expression.
“My son,” she said, ignoring Aidan and Nick. “I received word that one of the land demigods wished you released from your studies to play bodyguard?” She said the last work as if it tasted like something sour.
“Lord Chiron, yes. He wants Aidan and I to guard our chuisle.” He waved Nick forward. “Mother, this is Nick Gardiner, mate to Aidan and myself. Nick, this is my mother, Lady Eine, leader of the Bright Water Elders.”
The mermaid’s mouth firmed, obviously unimpressed by Nick. “I had hoped you’d grow out of this childish affection you have for,” she paused, flicking a glance at Aidan, “your friend. But bringing a landwalker into it? Surely you must see how ridiculous this all is.”
Liam stiffened. “It isn’t ridiculous, Mother. The Oracle himself declared that Aidan is my fated mate, and that a male from the land would be our third.”
“Yes, so you said. And yet no mating mark has appeared on your back. Which should have illustrated that your affection for him,” another flicker at Aidan, “was nothing but folly.”
Grim, Liam turned and exposed his back to the newcomers. “We have the mark now. All three of us.”
Eine paled when she saw the tattoo. “How do I know that’s not something you obtained in a landwalker’s tattoo parlor?” she said tightly.
“Lady Eine.” The merman stepped forward. He had the same muscled swimmer’s build as Liam and Aidan, with warm brown eyes and a strong jaw. “I can feel the power in the mark. It’s no landwalker imitation. Your son truly has been mated with Aidan and this human.” He gave Liam a warm nod. “I’m glad you finally found your third, Li. I know how long you’ve been looking for him.”
“Thank you, Colm,” Liam said.
Nick blinked at the name. What were the chances this was the same Colm that Liam’s mother had wanted him to mate with? And why do I get the feeling my new mother-in-law is trying to do an end run around the Fates?
He knew one way to stop that. “Yeah, hi,” he said, moving to Liam’s side and deliberately taking his hand. Lady Eine’s expression flickered in momentary distaste. “It’s nice to meet you, Lady Eine. You too, Colm.”
The mer stepped forward and held out his hand to Nick. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nick. You can call me Col.” He hesitated. “This is the right thing for people of the land to do, yes? Shaking hands when you first meet?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Nick took his hand and shook it. There was an immense strength in the mer’s grip, but he didn’t try to crush Nick’s hand or pull any sort of stupid Neanderthal tricks. Probably because he’s on a completely different evolutionary track from the Neatherthals. “I take it you’re friends with Liam and Aidan?”
“You could say that.” Col shot the other mers a merry grin. “I’m very glad they finally found you, Nick.”
Lady Eine made a throat-clearing noise. “If you’ve been marked by the Fates, then I cannot say anything against it,” she said, her tone very clear that there were all kinds of things she wanted to say about it. “Although I am concerned about your absence from your training with the Elders. However, we have another issue. Last night, two of our rangers cornered an injured ilkothella and were able to capture it.”
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So, yeah…
I just roughed out the remaining five chapters of Breaker Zone, thinking I only had about 15K to go. Ha. Hahahahaha. Looks like I have more along the lines of 28K to go, and total length is going to be much closer to 100K than 90K. Because action scenes and daring rescues and the sex that follows action scenes and daring rescues, you know.
There’s only one eensy issue about this. Evernight has a hard limit of 100K words, so yeah, I can’t go over that. I suppose it’s better to overwrite and prune back than not make word count, but I still want to drop my head to the keyboard and start crying softly when I think of those last five chapters. (This is also because I’m not letting myself write anything else until this sucker is done, and hoo boy I have stories backed up like you would not believe.)
But. 28,000 words. I’ve come this far. I’ll get through that. And on the plus side I just had my bad guy stabbed in the back and fed to sharks, so at least that was fun.
Nicola Cameron Writes 