Stuff About World Building

Charmed and Dangerous finally hit the shelves today, and I figured I’d blather about world building a little. Not because I’m an expert, but reading the other stories in the anthology I kept going oh, that’s brilliant, I wish I thought of it! And it started me thinking about world building. So much of what makes a speculative fiction story solid is behind the scenes.

One Hex Too Many centered on magic, the fae only got a mention, but they were already in the background, waiting for their chance to step out. They’ll get that chance in the sequel. Here are a few tidbits about them.

In this world magic is real and paranormal creatures share it with humans. The history if this reality was much similar to ours up till the industrial revolution. At that junction the encroachment of human technology forced a portion of fae kind deeper into hiding, some withdrew completely—they might have even gone extinct, though one never knows for sure. Others responded to the challenge by stepping out of the shadows, make their presence known beyond all doubt.

As you might expect, humankind had a mixed reaction to the arrival of these emigrants of another dimension. Preternatural Beings (official term) still haven’t fully integrated into human society, but the Fae Rights League is working hard to change this. Some fae do better than others.

The strength and resilience made ogres perfect for strong-arm jobs from body guards to mob enforcers. The drawback of employing ogres is that you can buy only their services, not their loyalty. That belongs only to their clans. Ogres are also smarter than they look, and are staring up their own businesses—something not all humans find agreeable.

Trolls are as strong, if not stronger, than ogres, but their solitary nature and idiosyncratic ways keep their interactions with humans minimal. They are masters of adaptation a can seamlessly blend into their environment. Griffin Park, across from the river from New Sky is the home of sever rock trolls and forest trolls. There’s at least one city troll living in Faetown, but he spends the daylight hours looking just another brick wall.

Well, that’s it for now. I might prattle on about goblins and pixies at some other time.

Charmed and Dangerous is available on Amazon - BN - iTunes - Kobo - Smashwords (ePub) - Payhip (multiformat, accepts PayPal)

Charmed and Dangerous Update and Cover Reveal

A few months ago Jordan Castillo Price asked me if I'd be interested in contributing a short story to an anthology she was putting together. I didn't have to think about it twice—it was a no brainer. Especially, considering the other authors involved. 

The tricky bit was deciding on the story. Fortunately, I have a Moleskine notebook where I jot down stray ideas, disembodied dialogues, and other random bits and bobs. One struck my fancy right away: a comic take on the old trope of the narrator looking into a mirror and describing what he sees. In my version he does just that, but the visage in the mirror isn’t his own reflection.

This is how it happens in the final telling:

 A blond man with blue eyes and cheekbones sharp enough to etch crystal looked at me from the mirror. Even my regrettably caffeine-starved brain registered the wrongness of this image. I knew for a fact that my own coloration was dull brown and the less was said of my cheekbones, the better.

Mirror-man waited patiently while I stared. His good looks were as overdramatic as the sky outside. His left brow twitched in a familiar way. "Good morning, Detective Mulligan."

“Good morning, Leslie,” I said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” I was aiming for sarcasm but I’d had too few hours of sleep to hit the bullseye.

He gave me a toothy smile. “I'm happy to see you too, Buttercup. Or should I say Teddybear?”

I scratched my—admittedly hairy—chest. “Whatever you want, Les, just get on with it.” Leslie Morland, assistant to Captain Karl Parker, my boss, had many excellent qualities. Short-windedness wasn’t one of them.

“The Captain wants to see you as soon as you get in.”

“You could’ve called on the phone, like normal people. Or, even better, leave a note on my desk.”

“Biannual test of alternate communications—Captain’s mandate.” His lips formed a lewd curve. “And I wouldn’t want to pass up my chance to see you in your morning glory. Besides, I wanted to be sure you actually made it in before noon.”

“I had a late night,” I grumbled, and it was true—I hadn’t gotten home from the stakeout till the wee hours.

“So I heard. Nonetheless, Captain Parker would love to see you in person, the sooner the better. I’ve been waiting for you to rise for the last twenty minutes. You should really put a mirror into your bedroom.” His leer deepened. “Over the bed would be ideal.”

“Not in your dreams,” I retorted. Departmental use of mirrors for communications was strictly regulated and safeguarded with multiple layers of security hexes, but nothing was ever a hundred percent safe. There was always a small chance one of those rogue hacker wizards—wackers for short—could get through. In over a decade on the Force I developed a healthy dose of paranoia.

Leslie pursed his lips—they got a lot of exercise. “I beg to differ. Everything’s possible in my dreams.” His voice switched to business—more or less. “Pleasantries aside, when can we expect you to grace us with your manly presence?”

“Forty minutes. Now go away; I need to shave.”

To get to this point, however, I had to figure out who was looking into the mirror and who was looking back and how all this came about. The process involved figuring out the man character’s name, job, his back story, and the world around him, where mirrors could do funny things. It was an exhilarating process, filled with possibilities and potential, and I succeed a little too well. One Hex Too Many is the first my story entirely set in an alternate universe/reality, but not the last one. I’m already working on the sequel.

If you like m/m paranormal romance and or urban fantasy Charmed and Dangerous is guaranteed to have something to tickle your fancy. It’ll come out on August 25, but is available for preorder on Amazon already. Have fun!

(Isn't that cover just sexy?)

BIG Announcement

I’M STOKED.

There’s this frakking big paranormal anthology coming out in a month and I can’t wait to read it. Oh, and I have a story in there too. It’s one illustrious company. Check out the official announcement:

Immerse Yourself

In TEN worlds of Magic

It’s magical. It’s man on man. And I promise you, my friends, it’s massive. I’ve put together an all new, all-star m/m paranormal anthology. It’s coming August 25, and I can’t wait to unveil it.

There’s something in this gigantic collection for everyone: ghosts and goblins, spellcasters and shifters. You’ll find a great mix of fresh new storyverses and riveting standalone stories from several popular m/m series.

Just check out our m/m rock star lineup!

Astrid Amara

KJ Charles

Charlie Cochet

Rhys Ford

Ginn Hale

Lou Harper

Jordan L Hawk

Nicole Kimberling

Jordan Castillo Price

Andrea Speed

And keep your eyes peeled for our cover reveal on July 21.

The antho is massive, over 180,000 words, I’ve been told. What happened is that some of us suck at following directions and flew way over the word count goal. And writing too much is not my usual problem. But Astrid was the worst offender.

JCP designed one smolderingly sexy cover, I can’t wait to show it off. STAY TUNED!