They're Here! They're Here!

Myboys, Gage and Jensen, are out in the world, in spite of my being unavailable for final edits or release due to medical blah blah blah. I'm just getting back to work, and the owner of MLR informed me -- they're on the shelf in a short intro story, Die For You!

Yum!It's a tasty bit that could easily be called, "How Gage and Jensen got it together and got it on." There's so many more stories in their futures. But I'm not quite back full-time yet, and I have a ton of catching up to do.

For now, run, don't walk, to ManLovePress to check out a steamy opening story!

The Cover is Coming, The Cover is Coming!

Heh! A dirty mind could go many sticky places with that line....

I got to look at the roughs for DIE FOR YOU the other day, and choose a basic color scheme. I love this whole process -- putting together the body which my story will inhabit. The cover is incredibly important. I'm convinced that it can make or break a small press or lesser-known writer's book. I know I've been turned off by books, and I know I've received some bad reviews that focused more on the cover than on any flaw in the story. Is it shallow? Yes. But humans operate that way, even when we try not to.

I make an attempt to read blurbs before I look at a cover when deciding what to read, but I don't always succeed. *sigh*

Whatever the facts on covers, I'm pleased at least with my cover model and colors so far, and that's a BIG deal! He very much embodies Jensen, the vampire in my story. It makes me excited for what comes next: editing!

I know, I know, that's so dorky. But I love the editing process (at least in the beginning...) A lot of my writer friends balk at having someone else take a knife to their baby, but I've learned over the years that your editor -- especially a good one -- can be the best friend your book can ever have. I tend to be a very wordy, blah blah writer. I have some terrible grammar and punctuation habits. I get so lost in writing the story, in being IN the characters, that I lose track of structure, plot coherence, all kinds of things that would drive a reader crazy. A good editor sees those things, excises them, helps you mold your baby into a much more intelligent and beautiful final product. I've been very lucky to have great editors, and as a result, I adore them.

I don't start hating the editing process until the very end, when I'm so sick of looking at the damn thing, I won't read it again for years. ;)

Anyway, so we're moving forward! W00t! My boys should be out in the world in March!

Great news, Kinklings!

I signed a contract for my m/m paranormal romance novella, DIE FOR YOU, with MLR Press yesterday!

DIE FOR YOU is the story of human Detective Gage Roberts and his vampire partner Jensen Holm, who are cops in the dark monster ghetto of their city, known as Undertown, where creepy crawlies are everyday citizens, and their morals — or lack thereof — make it a dangerous place for anyone to be. During a battle with a particularly deadly pair of jewel thief, mass-murdering demons, things go terribly wrong. Jensen puts his not-so-immortal immortality on the line to save Gage’s life, and it becomes the turning point in a long-simmering passion that Gage has been repressing for a long time. Gruff Gage (not really his nickname, but probably should be) isn’t much for the mushy stuff, and there are no more different characters on the planet than he and Jensen (and not just because of their species) — but once he’s seen that he could lose his partner forever, will he just get over himself already and go for it?

I'm thrilled to have found a home for Gage and Jensen. I love these characters and their story, and I think the Undertown world presents a great place for future stories, both for action, smut, romance, and the paranormal.

Stay tuned for more details as they develop, but for the time being, DIE FOR YOU is tentatively scheduled for March!