Whatever Friday

I'm not someone who rushes to the stores on Black Friday. I hate malls on a good day and bargain-mad crowds freak me out. Consequently, this is the day when I rather don't even leave the house. Perfect day for reading and sipping hot cocoa.

Fortunately for those of use suffering from chronic mob-aversion, nowadays you can shop in the safety and your privacy of your home, wearing pajamas and fuzzy slippers, and still not miss out on the deals. All Romance eBooks is having a HUGE sale. Two of my own books, Dead Man and the Restless Spirits and Dead in LA are FREE for the day.

Status Report: Demons on the Brain

I generally don't like to talk about a work in progress, especially in the early stage, because I'm afraid I'll jinx it. However, I'll take a chance this time. We'll see what happens.

Back in the Dead Man universe, I'm currently tinkering with spirits and demons. I'm almost done with a short story, and will move next to a longer story. The plot is not fully formed yet, but I went for a hike the other day and came back with some good ideas. Some of them sprung from things that happened or were said in Dead Man and the Restless Spirits. If I play my cards right, it'll seem like I always planned things just so.

Interestingly, certain illustrations I recently collected on Pinterest are also giving me inspiration. It's all very thrilling right now—wonderful possibilities abound. I also have a touch of fear, the possibility that I won't be able to pull it off in the end. This is the moment on the rollercoaster when the safety guards lock in place and you're about to take off.

Release Day Ramblings

Dead Man and the Restless Spirits is officially out today, although I had a soft release yesterday. (I needed buy link for reviews so I sneaked it out.) The print version should be available for purchase in a couple of days, for those weirdos who like their books on paper. I kid. I like physical books and keep bringing them home, but I'm swiftly running out of room for them. Just the other day I had to dash to IKEA for new shelves.

There have already been a handful of reviews, mostly good, but even the ones with lower ratings had good things to say. An author responding to reviews is a minefield—some reviewers like it, others don't, and it tends to come across as chest beating. So I try not to do it, but I do appreciate the time and thought reviewers invest in their articles. They're for readers and not the author, but they often give me food for thought.

One review for Dead Man brought up Jordan Calstillo Price's Psycop series. It was bound to happen. When you write about vampires it's given that your mythology will be similar to somebody else's. However, protagonists who commune with the dead are less common. The Psycop series was among the firs m/m books I read, and a major reason why the genre sucked me in. I couldn't un-read them if I wanted to, and I wouldn't want to, unless to be able to read them for the first time again.

JCP is a hard act to follow. When I started working on Dead Man I was painfully aware that I had to watch my step not to end up in JCP territory. Some similarities are simply unavoidable, because ghosts are ghosts, and white light has its long established role in spirituality. On top of everything, both of our stories take place in Chicago. That's because the Windy City is the location of Spirit Sanguine. I've been to Chicago and love the city—except in winter—and it seemed like a nice place for vampires. LA with all its sun would've been cruel.

Overall though, I believe I created my own world. Not that I'll ever stop being a fan of Jordan's. She really needs to write that next Psycop book.

Aight, I'm done rambling. Tootles!

Guest Cat

Murry, aka Murmur, is in charge of promo duties over at Stumbling Over Chaos. Head over if you'd like to win a copy of Dead Man and the Restless Spirits.

First Lines

Books on writing invariably will advise you to hook your readers from the very start. It's a good advice. The first version of my first novella—or short novel, depending on whom you ask—started with a chapter-long exposition. It was terrible. Fortunately, my beta reader told me so. The second version was marginally better, but only in the third did I manage to start with the action, instead of the backstory.

Now that I have few titles out and a few more in the pipelines I figured I'd make a compilation of first lines of my novels and novellas in chronological order, just for fun. Here they are:

I woke on a lumpy futon, tangled in my sheets and a dilemma: what was I to do for the next two days? (Hanging Loose)

It’s hard to talk with your mouth full of cock. (Academic Pursuits)

The first light of dawn slashed through the darkness, spilling the new day over the unsuspecting land. (Last Stop)

It's the randomness of things that scares me the most—not knowing what fate or blind chance have in store. (Dead in L.A.)

It was Gabe’s thirteenth straight perfect summer night in Chicago since he’d arrived back from Budapest. (Spirit Sanguine)

Dying sucked hairy monkey balls. (Dead Man and the Restless Spirits)

Karma cursed me because I called her a bitch. (Secrets and Ink)

The naked man came out of nowhere. (Werewolves of Venice Beach)

The last four are in various stages from soon-to-be-published (Spirit Sanguine) to the barely-started (Werewolves of Venice Beach). The latter aims to be a short story and that line might even change, but what the heck, right?

I'm thinking of making a similar list of my favorite books.