Tangled In His Possession - Available Now!

 

Woo-hoo! This year, I actually got my spooky season story out on time! (To be fair, last year wasn't 100% my fault, but I'm going to enjoy this anyway.) Tangled In His Possession is my latest paranormal romance, and I love it so much, I have two different marketing pitches for it. Take your pick!

You know those TV movies where the uptight high-powered businesswoman has to move from the big city to a small town because of [whatever reason], but it's all worth it because she finds love? It's like that, but the love interest is possessed by a demon. Whoopsie.

OR

Longtime readers and followers will know how much I love the game Dragon Age 2, especially the Hawke + Anders romance, which is most likely my most favorite video game romance EVER. So, is this technically a modern alternate universe retelling of part of one of my favorite games? ...possibly. But hey, since I'm in charge here, it means I get to pick the ending. 

Blurb and excerpt time? Blurb and excerpt time. 

Blurb:

When her great-aunt dies, leaving The Yarn Barn in need of new management, Lucy Hawkins jumps at the opportunity to quit her stressful sales job. She moves to the quaint tourist town of Willow Vale, ready for a fresh start when she takes over the business. While introducing herself to her new neighbors, she meets Zeke, the owner of the occult shop next door. Friendly yet reserved, Zeke piques her interest, but he turns down her suggestion of a date.

Late one night, a frightening incident causes Zeke to reveal why he doesn’t want to risk getting too close to Lucy: he is possessed by a demon, an evil spirit that killed his grandfather several years earlier. Though he has been able to prevent it from harming anyone else since, he agonizes over what could happen if he loses control. Despite his worries, Lucy persists, and ultimately persuades him to allow her to provide the companionship he’s been too afraid to seek out.

They embark on a romantic relationship, with Zeke becoming the doting, compassionate partner Lucy has always dreamed of. The demon within him, however, remains a lingering concern, especially when it comes to intimacy and his fear for her safety. After a traumatic outburst, he vows to rid the world of the malicious force, even if it costs him his life. Lucy accepts his choice, but there’s one thing she needs from him before he carries out his plan. Can she convince Zeke to share every part of himself with her, demons and all?

 

Excerpt:

"I convinced myself it would be a mistake. Even last night, after I told you my darkest secrets, I believed it would be better if we avoided each other." His knuckles whitened on the countertop. "But when you touched me, the first time anyone’s touched me in years, I surrendered for a few blissful moments. Which was also a mistake, as I haven’t stopped thinking about it since."

She sensed an opening. "I could do it again, if you’d like."

A faint groan rumbled from his throat.

Shifting to the side, Lucy reached over and rested her hand atop his. His skin was warm beneath her palm, and she entwined their fingers together.

His eyes closed as he swallowed. "Why do I find it impossible to resist you?"

"Because I made a career out of being very persuasive." Her grip on him tightened. "Deep down, you know I’m right. You can’t spend the rest of your life pushing people away."

Zeke swiveled toward her, his hand slipping out of hers. "You really are stubborn."

"Yup."

"I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into."

She refused to back down, tilting her head to stare into his chocolate-brown eyes instead. "I think I know what I can and can’t handle."

Indecision washed over his face and he turned away from her. With the faintest of touches, she used her fingertips to guide his head back in her direction. Electricity sparked between them as she drew her thumb across his cheek, memorizing the rough feel of his stubble and enjoying the shudder she elicited. He leaned into her cupped palm, his hot breath floating over her wrist as he pressed his lips to her skin.

Need consumed her, both her desire to explore more of him and her wish to erase some of his anguish. "Let me be closer to you, Zeke," she murmured. "It’s okay to give in."

The intensity with which he kissed her caught her off-guard, ripping the air from her lungs. She recovered quickly, though, and planted her free hand on the other side of his face as his tongue plunged between her parted lips. The ends of her fingers threaded through the silky strands of his hair as she kissed him back with fervor, enthralled by the taste of his soft lips. His arms snaked around her waist, holding her tight.

He drew back far too soon, and she whimpered at the loss of contact. "We shouldn’t be doing this," he said, his voice strained and unsteady.

"Too late." Lucy steered his mouth back to hers and delivered a teasing nibble to his lower lip. "We already are."

Tangled In His Possession is available in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited!

Trope-tastic Tuesdays: (Green-Skinned) Space Babe

(Parts of this were originally posted on February 21, 2013)

Trope: (Green-Skinned) Space Babe

Description: The attractive alien with mostly human features so having sex with him or her isn't too squicky. While the fictional aliens of yore were mostly green, blue has been more common in recent years, though they can come in every color of the rainbow. Female space babes are more prevalent than the males, and they will frequently be large-chested and/or scantily clad.

Examples: The Asari from the Mass Effect series (plus, to a lesser extent, the Drell, or even the Quarians, based on that one picture of Tali), the Na'vi from Avatar, the trio of male aliens in Earth Girls Are Easy

Pros: Sometimes we've banged all there is to bang on this planet and need to expand our horizons. On a more serious note, an alien romance can add another layer of intrigue and complexity to any sci-fi story. As far as the intimate part of the relationship goes, you can keep it identical to what humans do, or...well, the sky's the limit here, I suppose. (Pun partially intended.) For maximum bonus points, throw in at least a conversation about how reproduction works.

Cons: Everyone's got their preferences when it comes to romance, and for many people, interspecies sex is a no-no. Care also has to be taken here when it comes to portraying one of the species (human or alien) as superior to the other as that can mirror real-life issues here on Earth, and you don't want to inadvertently stumble into something problematic.

Would/Did I Use It?: Once again, years after the original post, I have an entry for this trope! Originally, I was on the "not a fan" train, but I've come around. (Blame Mass Effect.) In Out of Orbit, Jasmine crash lands on a planet inhabited by a humanoid species and falls in love with their leader, Aras. I didn't go too crazy with the aliens here, as they look and behave very similar to humans. I didn't even pick one of the typical colors of green or blue; they have pearl gray/silvery skin. In the interests of full disclosure, if we're talking about video game inspiration, I think I'd been playing some Dragon Age: Inquisition before writing this one, and some of the features of my fictional species resemble those of the qunari in DAI (and DA2).

Hilarity May or May Not Ensue

So, I think we've all realized by now that I'm not one of those people who is SUPER SERIOUS, ALL OF THE TIME about her writing. That's not to say I don't write serious stories, because I definitely do...I just frequently laugh at myself while doing so. To be honest, I often find people who always take things seriously (assuming it's not a life-or-death situation) to be exhausting, but hey, you do whatever you need to do to get through your days.

I won't make any comments as to whether or not I'm "funny," as I know how subjective humor is. Maybe I've made people laugh here a few times over the years, maybe I've just made them roll their eyes at my flippant attitude before they move on. For what it's worth, while I have my "fiction writing" voice, as we all do, my "writing about writing/blogging" voice here is pretty close to what real-life me is like. I've said before, while I'm sure I'm not everyone's cup of tea, I like to think I'm fun to be around in most situations. But again, who knows.

On to the writing about writing part! I've written in a whole lot of romantic sub-genres, but I don't know if I've ever set out to write a true "comedy." Some of my books/stories are intended to be lighthearted and maybe a little fluffy, and even in some of my darker stories, the occasional odd situation or snarky remark slips through. (That might be tied to my "real me" voice, but I digress.) And now that I'm thinking about genres, I'm starting to wonder—can you even write "just" a comedy without including some sort of sub-genre? (Romance, mystery, adventure, etc.) Like, is "contemporary comedy" a thing just like "contemporary romance" is? Clearly, I am not among the people getting paid to create categories on Amazon.

(I just took a tiny break from writing this blog post to take a look. Lots of romantic comedies out there. There was a "wilderness" comedy on the first page of Amazon hits, which I would file under "adventure." And Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine was also near the top, which I did enjoy, and parts were funny, but I don't know if that was the point of the story? Moving right along.)

Outside of my little website here, I have written stories explicitly intended to make people laugh, in the form of fanfic. I'd even venture to claim I was successful, in that my old Dragon Age and Mass Effect comedies were always my most popular fics, and they're still getting hits and comments and bookmarks and everything 7-8 years later. (UGH, I'M OLD.) Recently, I've been experiencing the same trends with my Fire Emblem: Three Houses fanfic. So, I know I *can* do it, but I'm also aware of the contextual differences between writing something humorous in an existing universe vs. starting from scratch with everything.

I'm still making great progress with my new project, Elemental Forces. I'm still not sure if we've established it can be a "comedy," but it's definitely on the more lighthearted end of the spectrum. I'm not attempting to land joke after joke after joke, but I made an effort to set the tone early on, and that tone (hopefully) is "this book will make you smile and feel good." As I mentioned in my last post, it's heroic fantasy and, of course, romance, since I consider myself a romance writer first and foremost. Since it's romance, there will be some emotional and poignant scenes in addition to the fun ones, because I'd argue you can't really have a romance without those, but THAT is another topic for another post.

In the meantime, I'll switch back to my Word document now, because I am still writing up a storm and it feels GOOD! (Might as well end on a "smile/feel good" moment!)

So, Now What?

Since last checking in, the world seems a little bit less on fire, but not significantly so. Throughout the whole lockdown, I saw a lot of authors and fellow writing buddies posting on social media about how they didn't feel like writing AT. ALL, and dude, I totally get that. Trust me, I do. And even though we all have a whole laundry list of valid reasons for not being able to be creative and productive, that didn't save us from the shame spirals.

People have also been talking about "the new normal" and what that's going to look like. Considering how much is still up in the air, I think the answer is pretty much: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. But even though a lot of things still suck right now, and I wouldn't say life is much less stressful than it was a month ago, maybe some of us are starting to adjust to the world in its current state.

I am still playing the hell out of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and it continues to be both the escape I need and just a plain ol' GOOD piece of fiction on its own. After poking around the fandom a bit, I started writing some fanfic. Then I wrote some more. For a while there, I was in a pretty good writing routine, for once. Which then led me to think...is it time to start applying this creative burst to my own original projects?

The answer: still ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. And then that leads into the next obvious question, what should I write? I haven't touched Sonata for Springtime since last September or so, and I already have the first third done, so that was a possibility. I've had a dystopian romance mentally plotted out for a couple years, and I'd planned on that being my next project following Hunting Astrid, but I think it's understandable that I am NOT in the mood for dystopia right now. And there's another old project/idea I thought about revisiting, which I'll eventually dedicate a blog post to, but I'm not 100% sold on it yet.

So, I thought about what's been making me so happy about and motivated to write FE3H fanfic. Although Hunting Astrid is in a totally different setting, I realized there were some similarities that made me excited about writing: fast-paced, plenty of action, and, above all, FUN. At this point, I definitely need my writing to be FUN right now. Sure, it can be fun to write darker stories, with all sorts of Very Important Feelings, and I still plan on doing that sometime in the future, but FUN is taking priority at the moment.

I could go on for another several paragraphs about the age-old "where do ideas come from?" but two days ago, I came up with the most basic of plots in the most basic of settings with three basic characters, and since then, I've been fleshing those out. I'm in no rush to start, especially since my free time is being devoted to a crocheted baby blanket that has a very firm deadline that is fast approaching, but the details are gradually surfacing, so I think I'll be good to go soon enough. I've blogged before about how I have a tendency to not write a whole lot during the summer months, but this is a new world, so who knows what will happen. But I have a plan, and plans are good. Plus, even if the writing goes slowly, I know I'm not alone.

Video Games, Part Whatever - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

My go-to answer for anyone who asks how lockdown in NY is going is "we're hanging in there." We've had our ups and downs, and I'm really not up for discussing the downs right now. I started playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses on the Switch...last week? Two weeks ago? Time has no meaning right now. Either way, the game is about the only thing keeping me even partially sane right now, so even though I'm only halfway through it, I figured I might as well sing its praises in a blog post.

I've never played a Fire Emblem game before, nor did I know anything about the series going in, other than some general awareness of its existence. But once I acquired a Switch (hidden in a dark corner of Costco; there were only two left, so I'm kind of proud of myself for finding one), gaming/creative buddy Boobulon recommended Three Houses, assuring me I'd either like it or love it. We've never steered each other wrong before when it comes to gaming recommendations, so I got the game. As I mentioned, I just passed the halfway point, but so far, so good!

In no particular order:

Characters: Probably what's impressed me the most about this game is the character development. The cast is HUGE—we're talking at least 30 individual characters, and while of course some are more significant than others, there really aren't a whole lot of what I would consider "minor" characters. Naturally, the game does rely on some tropes; it would be impossibly not to. But while it would be easy to have some characters be reduced to nothing but one-dimensional tropes or stereotypes, everyone's got different traits and backstories to fully flesh them out. And while I have my favorites, there isn't even anyone I really dislike, which is also impressive.

Setting: Since I haven't played any other games in the series, I'm sure there's a ton of lore I'm missing out on. Even without all that context, though, it was easy enough to learn about the fictional world in its state as of the time of the game. It's pretty basic medieval-ish fantasy—all humans, fighting with weapons like swords and axes, but some characters can use magic, and there's mystical creatures/monsters like dragons and wyverns and such. There's a definite class system, with nobility vs. commoners being A Thing, and there's also a centralized religious institution playing a role in all the political drama. Again, I'm sure there's stuff I'm glossing over since I don't have the context of the past games, but it all makes enough sense to me.

Plot: As always, I try to remain as spoiler-free as possible before playing. However, I'm pretty sure it's even in the game's description (the blurb, if you will) that close to the beginning, you have to choose one of the titular three houses to align yourself with. That right there increases the replayability factor, since while you can build relationships with people in other houses, it's more challenging. I also knew going in that the game is clearly split into two halves, with a time jump in the middle. I know there's a lot of differing opinions out there about time jumps, but personally, I don't mind it. I don't consider it lazy writing, and I think it allows for a lot of character growth. (Probably one of the reasons Dragon Age II is my favorite of that series, since I think it has the strongest companion characters, and the time jumps allow for that level of development.) Aside from the house selection at the beginning, there are also some places where the plot branches out in different directions, so I know I'll need to go back and replay for those choices, too.

Aside from the structure, everything else seems well-organized and planned out. Some big plot events were heavily foreshadowed, so I wasn't surprised at all when they happened. On the other hand, there was a big twist I didn't see coming AT ALL, to the point where I was shouting profanity at my TV screen and was PISSED for the rest of the night (but in a good, entertained way!). And then once I got over my surprise, I realized that looking back, there were quite a few hints dropped leading up to it, which just makes it even better.

Gameplay: I'm playing on the easiest mode, so I won't go into a whole lot of detail here. It's turn-based combat, which I know some people don't love, but I like the logic and thought and planning that goes into it. Then there are little side things, like gardening and fishing, and leveling your character up, and choosing how to develop the skills of the rest of your team, etc. Some parts of it I think are as easy or as complex as you make them, but I haven't gotten frustrated with anything yet.

So there we are, a little past the halfway point, and about 60 hours in, according to my main save file. If you need a distraction to get your mind off of everything else that's going on right now, either on a global level or a more personal one, I highly recommend the game. (I'm assuming nothing's going to happen to change my opinion to a negative one by the end, but I suppose you never know....)

Still Alive, Still Not Writing, But Getting Closer!

Looks like it's time for my monthly check in! I still haven't been completely cleared by my team of doctors to resume normal activity, but I'm feeling hopeful about my appointments next week. Mostly, I just want the damn PICC line out of my arm and to stop the IV antibiotics, because that's all annoying and the meds make me tired. As the title of this post indicates, I haven't *quite* resumed writing yet. But! Though I didn't know if my brain was up to writing, I figured I might as well give editing a try, thinking that would be a little less mentally taxing. I've been going back through the old files to see if anything is worth rescuing and resubmitting. I don't know if anything will pan out from this, but at least I'm doing something.

Other things I have been doing:

I finally finished the scarf/shawl/wrap thingy I mentioned in my last post. It needs a light blocking, but I took pictures anyway. The pattern is supposed to resemble dragon scales, and we all know how much I love dragons.

I also played a new video game; while nothing I've read recently comes with a strong recommendation, I can wholeheartedly recommend Life is Strange. Even if you're just a casual gamer, the story and characters are fantastic. I don't think I've been as emotionally affected by a game since Mass Effect 3. Plus, due to the structure of the game, there's plenty of replay value. The main game has a prequel with the same characters, which I played and liked well enough, though it didn't have quite the same charm as the original, and then a sequel with a whole new cast and setting, which I haven't started yet. If you're looking to participate in an interactive story, definitely check it out!

Nothing to See Here!

No, really, not much to see here. I finished Mass Effect: Andromeda, and it was very good; while I will replay it soon, I haven't felt the burning need to start over again yet. I've also been reading for a change, and paying attention to my neglected knitting. Edits haven't started yet for Seductive Suspect, so I'm trying to spread the love between my other hobbies in my limited free time.

I feel like I should start a new writing project soon, though. I have one idea pretty much completely fully outlined, and two more that need a little more baking. I'm debating whether to start the former and work on it whenever I feel like it (and try to get back into good writing habits), or wait until I'm feeling really fired up and attack it head on. There's no good answer, of course. And let's face it, with two rambunctious toddlers running around, a day job that's in an upswing on the busy spectrum, and some lingering issues with my chronic illness, sometimes I am just TIRED. But one way or another, writing always manages to worm its way back onto my list of priorities. I'll get there, I promise!

(Oh, and I suppose I could write a better follow-up post about ME:A, but all in good time!)

Setting the Pace

As promised, here are some spoiler-free thoughts on Mass Effect: Andromeda. The game's been out for almost a month and I'm not finished with it yet (how's that for pacing?), and I'm really not sure how much I have left to go. Based on the level requirements to unlock certain things, I think there's still a decent amount left, but I can't say for sure. That said, I've played enough of it to spout off some of my thoughts and how they relate to storytelling.

So far, I'm really enjoying the game. Some parts of it have been frustrating, but the good stuff more than makes up for it. While I do love Dragon Age: Inquisition, as we all know (the previous BioWare game), I wouldn't say the game was without its faults. MEA has improved on the elements I took issue with, which I appreciate.

As the title of this post indicates, I'm going to talk about pacing. That was my number one qualm with DAI, in that the pacing seemed really uneven and just...off. There are certain plot points you have to hit in order to progress the main plot, and in some cases, you can choose the order in which you do them, but the sheer number of side quests (many optional, to be fair) killed the sense of urgency for me. And what really bugged me was that the main plot quests were SO GOOD. Like, I distinctly recall staying up way too late while playing one of them because I HAD to know what happened next (a mark of good storytelling). I wish there had been more of that instead of Fetch Quest #2837.

To be fair, the structure of MEA isn't too dissimilar, but something about it flows better for me. Maybe it's because all the little side quests add up to a bigger whole, or contribute more to the overall story. It's funny, in DAI, the Big Bad is established relatively early on and you know your goal is to defeat him. In MEA, I'm pretty sure, though not positive, I know who the final boss is going to be, but the overall goal is just making a safe place for your people to live. You'd think that the game with the more defined goal would be the one with better pacing, but it's not working out that way for me.

Moving on! The other issue I had with DAI is that I thought there were way too many characters, and as such, not all of them felt as developed and well-written as they could have been. (For the record, I said the same exact thing about Mass Effect 2.) MEA pared down the number of companions and as a result, I don't feel like any of them are useless or redundant. Sure, there are some I like better than others, but even my least favorite has a detailed background and has had some good moments.

I'll stop here before this gets too long. I know you're all wondering about the romances, because obviously that's the main reason people play these games ( ;) ). I've chosen who I'm going to pursue the first time around, but the romance hasn't progressed super far, so I'll get back to you on that!

Everything is In Order

While I didn't hit my original deadline of finishing up Seductive Suspect by the end of February, I did get it done before the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda next week. We'll put that in the win column! So that's all taken care of, and I have another ten days to loaf around (and maybe replay some Dragon Age: Inquisition on my shiny new laptop that I bought for ME:A).

I've mentioned it before, but I'm the type of writer who needs to write in order. That method has its pros and cons, and I'm certainly not going to argue with the people who write their scenes as they come because hey, whatever gets the words on the page. For me, though, when I go in order, I wind up thinking about the final, climactic scenes SO much, by the time I get there, writing is just plain fun. The words fly out of my fingers, and it's a far more enjoyable process than "okay, how am I going to connect Point A to Point B here?" I don't mind waiting for the reward as opposed to getting the fun stuff done first and then having to tie it all together. (But again! Whatever works!)

(Incidentally, the knitting project I'm working on now is similar - the body of the cardigan is done in one color in plain stockinette on tiny little needles, and I'm not going to lie. It's been a bit of a slog. But once I get to the colored yoke, HOLY CRAP IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!)

(My knitting friends may think I'm a bit nuts, too.)

Getting back to writing! Interestingly enough, despite all the nights I lay awake hashing out every single detail about those last thrilling chapters, I did wind up tweaking a few details once I got there. Nothing major, just some bits I thought made the plot flow a little better. I suppose it just emphasizes that no process is perfect. Either way, I'm happy with the end result, so stay tuned for more updates!

Forging Ahead Into the New Year

Happy New Year! Okay, I'm a couple weeks behind. I'll be honest - while I do love the holiday season and it's one of my favorite times of the year, part of me is really glad to be settling back into our usual routine. I was a creature of habit even before having kids, and now I have two little people who benefit from having structure. So even though it was great being around friends and family, celebrating and doing other fun stuff, I'm not terribly disappointed that it's all over.

With that return to normalcy comes a new burst of writing energy! I've noticed this for a couple years now. Something about the new year gives me the push I need and I get a lot done in the early months. I wish I could bottle up whatever it is and whip it out in, say, August, but I'll take what I can get. Who knows, maybe the darker, colder months just lend themselves to better writing when there's little else to do.

I'm moving right along on Seductive Suspect. The chapters are getting longer; I plan to finish one this week, and then I only have two more, plus an epilogue. I'm on track for my estimated word count, and I have very firm plans for the final chapters/epilogue. When I started this book, I had a pretty comprehensive outline for a change, but there were still some blanks that needed filling in, and I struggled there a few times. For where I am right now and one point near the climax, there's a couple minor little details I need to work out, but I think/hope it'll be smooth sailing until the end.

I'm all about realistic deadlines. Knowing real life can get in the way, I *think* I can be done with this and ready to submit by the end of February. I have a few weeks of wiggle room, but I NEED to be done by mid-March. Why, you ask? Some major life event? An exotic vacation? Vanishing in a glamorous poof of mystery?

Nope. Mass Effect: Andromeda comes out then. I pre-ordered it a while ago, and since I'll only be able to play in the evenings once I have it, I anticipate it's going to take me a loooooooooong time to get through it. As they say in the games before the final quests, I'd better wrap up any unfinished business before then, since I'll be disappearing off the face of the earth for a while. ;)

Evil Or Not?

I had the idea for this blog post bouncing around for a while, and then Tuesday happened. I'm not going to spend time on politics here for various reasons, but let's just say that I have been very tired this week, and a lot of my computer time was spent zoning out to mindless stuff. Despite my best efforts, I just wasn't in the mood to get a lot of writing done, but I'm hoping to fix that. And as I think about it, this post I planned may have some relevance to current events (but again, I'm not going to delve too deeply into them here).

So I've been plugging away, slowly but surely, on Seductive Suspect and its varied cast of characters. One of them, Dylan, is...well, he's kind of an asshole. He alternates between arguing with the others and keeping to himself, makes inappropriate comments, and is just mostly unpleasant to be around in general. If we're being honest here, I based him on what we in the gaming world refer to as the "dudebro gamer". In some ways, writing him (and others' reactions to him) is fun; in others, it's been a challenge. While he's not a "nice" person, does that necessarily make him bad, or evil?

In that sense, villains are easy. The ultimate villain (as he doesn't appear that way initially) of the Disintegration universe, Dr. Zedek, was fun to write, as he had few redeeming qualities and was supposed to be the bad guy. By the end of his arc, I loved to hate him, and I hoped readers felt the same way. But what of the characters who don't fill the role of the antagonist? How bad is too bad?

Now I have a silly confession to make. When I play Mass Effect and Dragon Age, I make the decisions I think are best during my first run, and then when I replay, try to make different ones. Even when I'm playing a different sort of character, sometimes I really struggle with what I personally feel to be the less moral choice.* Part of me wants to see all the possible outcomes, but there's another part of me that just can't do certain things. Heck, sometimes I even feel bad picking certain dialogue options that don't have much of an effect on anything else. And then there are decisions/plot points that I think are completely terrible and I could NEVER bring myself to make a certain choice...and then I poke around the fandom and find people who think it's the right thing to do and can't imagine playing otherwise.** Gray morality, yo. Or, different people think differently.

So back to Dylan in this current book. Is he a horrible, irredeemable person? No, probably not, in that he's not plotting world destruction or anything like that. I still wouldn't want to hang out with him for too long, though. It's taking effort to find the balance of how far to go with him, developing his character without making him too over the top. Because realistically, some people are just jerks.

*In Mass Effect, even when playing a Paragon, I always let the Council die and shoot Udina myself. Those assholes had it coming.
 **In Dragon Age 2, I am horrified by the idea of giving Isabela to the Arishok at the end of Act 2. But there are a ton of people out there who feel the same way about her as I do about the Council and Udina. Fascinating.

Out of Orbit - Coming Soon!

Well, that happened faster than I expected. A lot faster, actually. Either way, I signed the contract for Out of Orbit, so at least I won't be jumping out of my seat every time I hear the email alert on my phone. Details about a cover, release date, etc., will be forthcoming, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, have a blurb. (If you think you can spot some video game influences...you're probably right.)

Following an explosive space battle, Captain Jasmine Hale is forced to order the evacuation of her ship. She flees in an escape pod before its destruction, but the resulting crash on an unknown planet kills her pilot and leaves her stranded. Though imprisoned by the first natives she encounters, she soon meets Aras, their ruler. To her surprise, he speaks her language and tells her she is not the first human to land on Ryk.

When Jasmine questions why she has never heard of his planet, Aras shows her a journal of research notes written five hundred years earlier. Inside, she discovers the key to the mystery: due to an irregular orbit, Ryk is only accessible to humans for a short period of time during its path around its sun. She is horrified to realize if her crew doesn’t find her within that window, she will be trapped on Ryk for the rest of her life.

Despite her distressing circumstances, Jasmine resolves to immerse herself in the Rykian culture. Aras, while sympathetic, is thrilled to show her his world. Rumors begin circulating about whether or not his attention to her is appropriate, and she struggles to sort through how she feels about him.

The pair eventually admits their mutual attraction and they embark on a romance. As they plan for a future together, another ship of humans arrives on Ryk to rescue their captain. Caught between two worlds, Jasmine is faced with a difficult dilemma. Choosing one means leaving the other behind forever. How will she decide?

Out of Orbit - The Fantasy Cast

Progress on Out of Orbit is slow, but steady. I'm not at the point yet where I can say "the end is in sight", but I'm at the point where being able to say "the end is in sight" is in sight. Or something like that. :D

Anyhoo, I decided to mix things up and do something fun on the blog - list my choices for what actors would play which roles when the book is published and becomes wildly successful and the movie version is planned. (Which OBVIOUSLY is going to happen!) I've done these before, and some are easier than others. Sometimes I even have people/faces in mind from the get go to help with description. Way back when, I had no trouble at all picking actors for the main roles in The Edge of the Sphere. On the flip side, regular readers will know I've always struggled with selecting someone to portray Ro (from Disintegration and The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions), and it wasn't until the summer until I finally found an actress I thought could do her justice.

So let's see what we have so far.

Captain Jasmine Hale: For our kickass heroine, I've decided to go with Emily Blunt. I'll admit that I'm probably swayed by her role in Edge of Tomorrow, but I've liked her in other stuff, and she always seems like a cool person in interviews. Plus, she fits the physical description and I think she has the maturity to pull off the role, as Jasmine is already pretty established in her career and not, like, some sweet little young naive thing. (She's probably around my age, cough cough.)

Aras: In what's sure to be a blockbuster hit, budget will not be an issue, so it probably makes sense to use CGI for the alien species in the book. However! Real people are still required somewhere along the line. Ever since I put "This Nearly Was Mine" on the playlist, I've been hearing Aras's dialogue in Brian Stokes Mitchell's voice. (Even though Aras at one point says he doesn't have a good singing voice, and Brian Stokes Mitchell's singing voice is like chocolate-covered angels descending from heaven on golden unicorns, spreading light and love to all the world.) I guess he'd work as a face/body model, too, for our hero/leader of the fictional planet. Since Aras is about 600 years older than Jasmine, I'm not concerned about his age. ;)

Lieutenant Moore: I write often about how much I've been inspired by games, and the Mass Effect series is high on my list of favorites. If I'm going to write a pilot of a spaceship, there are bound to be similarities to Joker. And Joker means Seth Green. That was easy. Next!

Rana: Again, CGI here, but we need a person. I'm going to try to phrase this in a way that doesn't come off as negative, as I'm really not trying to be insulting here, but Uma Thurman's...shall we say, distinct features make me think of how I've described Rana. She's tall enough, anyway.

I still have a couple minor characters who I haven't paired up with real people yet, but this is still a fun list. Now back to writing! 

Meet the Team - Reggie Quinn

(from The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions)

Name: Reggie Quinn

Role: The Muscle

Country of Origin: Charytar

Known associates/affiliations: Occasional patient of Dr. Cassels; cousin to Ted Quinn

Greatest accomplishment: Leaving home and becoming completely self-sufficient at age 15

Biggest fear: Dying alone

Additional information: There are a number of allusions (some made by Reggie himself) to how not all of the jobs and tasks he's performed in the past were completely legal, but he chooses not to reveal specifics. He also mentions some siblings, but they're not close. How and why Ted is the only member of his family he regularly contacts isn't stated, but in some ways, they both need each other.

Trivia: To continue on with how completing Mass Effect was on my mind when I started writing, I'll admit I was thinking of James Vega when creating Reggie. Though if I had to pick a real-life person to model him after, I vote for Channing Tatum. ;)

Without giving away too many details or spoilers, I'll say that I loved writing Reggie's interactions with Ro. "Opposites attract" plots are all well and good, but one of the reasons I love them together is their similarities. There's plenty of witty comments and snark to go around, and that made writing just plain fun.

Meet the Team - Ted Quinn

From The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions:

Name: Ted Quinn

Role: The Hacker

Country of Origin: Charytar

Known associates/affiliations: Cousin to Reggie Quinn

Greatest accomplishment: Hacking into one of the Charytaran military's networks without getting caught, just to see if he could

Biggest fear: Rejection

Additional information: Ted feels much more comfortable dealing with computers and other electronics than he does with people. Aside from Reggie, his face-to-face interactions with others are very limited. While not necessarily happy, he's content with spending his time on little more than movies and games. Whether it's never occurred to him to aspire to do more with his life, or if he's afraid of trying and failing is anybody's guess.

Trivia: Aspects of Ted are very loosely based on one of my closest friends. I think that ultimately helped with making him a more sympathetic character than he appears on the surface.

While never explicitly stated, the handheld game Ted plays in several scenes is Tetris. I did not have any particular film in mind for the porn that is playing on his TV when Ro and Reggie first arrive at his house. :D

Flight of the Dragon Queen - Coming Soon!

I love writing for the 1Night Stand series, as there's an infinite number of stories to be told, all while following the stated guidelines. They're addictive! So I'm thrilled to announce I signed a contract for my next contribution, Flight of the Dragon Queen (unofficial subtitle: Thea Plays Too Many Video Games). Here, have a blurb:

For his entire life, Caleb has always been more comfortable surrounded by books and games than other people. He contacts Madame Eve when 1Night Stand is recommended to him, but is too shy to actually meet any of the women she finds for him. Together, they reach a workable solution: a simulated dating experience in a setting reminiscent of his favorite stories.

After following Madame Eve’s instructions, Caleb finds himself in a vivid fantasy world, complete with a damsel in distress who needs rescuing. His objective is clear, but he must find a way around the many obstacles standing between him and Alizeira, the mysterious woman imprisoned in an underground cell. Familiar tropes and a colorful cast of characters enhance—or impede—his journey, from a short-tempered guard captain (and his equally temperamental horse) to a one-eyed “herbalist” who expresses annoyance whenever anyone calls her a witch.

While working on his plans to save her, Caleb spends time getting to know Alizeira beyond her role as prisoner, and a mutual attraction develops between them. He is unsure whether she’s a real person playing a part like him, or if she’s simply one piece of the elaborate simulation that’s been programmed for his date. Setting her free is the first step to discovering the truth, but how many secrets is Alizeira hiding?