The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions - It's Official!

After a couple miscommunications and some other snafus which are boring so I won't elaborate, I'm thrilled to announce that I received the acceptance/contracts for The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions, the sequel to Disintegration! I don't have an official release date yet, but I do have some fun stuff planned for the time leading up to it. Stay tuned for said fun, and in the meantime, here's the blurb:

A year has passed since Ro Bernard escaped from the Midnight Scorpions, a clandestine group of mercenaries that exists in the outside world as little more than myths and rumors. Though haunted by the reprehensible acts she committed and witnessed as a member of the organization, her primary focus is keeping a roof over her head and food on her plate. A chance encounter leads her to Karin Cassels, whose son died in the Scorpions’ underground laboratory. While sharing details about her son’s research, Ro reveals the most disturbing information she has on the group. Their leader, scientist Dane Zedek, has been integrating cybernetic parts with human soldiers in the hopes of building himself a lethal army that will help him achieve even greater political power.
 
The women hatch a plan to take down the Midnight Scorpions with two ultimate goals: kill Zedek, and rescue Callum, Ro’s lover who was the first of the scientist’s experimental hybrids. For additional assistance, Dr. Cassels directs Ro to Reggie Quinn, a drifter who is no stranger to odd jobs and risky situations. Reggie agrees to join the cause in exchange for a percentage of whatever they loot from the Scorpions’ base.
 
They embark on an adventure throughout three warring countries to assemble their team and gather the necessary materials for their schemes. Along the way, Ro tries to fight her growing attraction to Reggie, especially as reminders of her unhappy past keep resurfacing. Love and redemption wait for her at the end of her mission to defeat the Midnight Scorpions…assuming she makes it out alive.

Oh, Right, I Have a Blog, Don't I

Eeesh, I've neglected this thing lately. Truth be told, I just don't have a lot to blog about. I'm still in submissions limbo: one manuscript has to be revised and resubmitted, while there was a perfect storm of miscommunication with another that I think is all hammered out now, but I'm still playing the waiting game there. Ah, the glamorous life of a writer, right? ;)

I'm still taking a mini-break from writing, though I knocked out a quick Dragon Age 2 fanfic (BECAUSE I CAN) and have plans for two more short fanfics. I've got some original ideas bouncing around in my head, but I haven't decided what my next major project is going to be yet. I've come across some interesting submission calls for anthologies and I have solid plans for one of them, but I haven't figured out my writing life beyond that point.

Work got crazy for a while, as it tends to do, and I felt like I was drowning for about a week. That stress has passed for now, but between that and the summer/holiday, I've just been chilling out for a bit and regrouping. I shouldn't ignore this blog, though, and I'll make more of an effort to keep it updated. Who knows, maybe next time I'll even have something interesting to say!

Cross Post - What NOT to do when writing romance

I'll write a real post one of these days, but for now I'll be lazy and link to my guest post over at Alisha Robinson's blog. She's featuring a different author every day during her Romance in June event, and I popped over to share my advice for what NOT to do in my usual snarky, self-deprecating way.

Read what I have to say about vowels and the Cirque du Soleil!

We Were On a Break!

I'm still taking a little breather from writing, and yes, still playing games. I finished the main part of Dragon Age: Origins, finished DA: Awakenings tonight, and I have one more DLC to go. I'll probably play through a couple more of the origin stories, but I don't know how many times I'll replay the entire shebang.

Now that I'm (mostly) finished, I stand by my opinion from the last post, which is that while the game is a lot of fun to play and has its good qualities, I am not completely in love with it. The main game actually got pretty good near the end (more on that in a bit) and some of the characters did grow on me a little more. Awakenings started off pretty well and there were some pretty cool sections, but truth be told, I thought it fizzled out a bit at the end.

Okay, now to tie it back in to storytelling, as this is my writing blog. When working on The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions, I had a conversation with friends about foreshadowing. Specifically, in that book, I wondered if it would come across as if I were foreshadowing events that wound up not happening and whether that's a good or bad thing. There were two things that really surprised me in DAO.

Before I go any further, I'll point out that when it comes to foreshadowing and/or picking up on hints, I'm really hit or miss. For example, it really annoyed my mom when she told me to watch The Sixth Sense and I figured out the twist right away. On the flip side **SPOILER ALERT FOR DRAGON AGE 2**, I did not see Anders blowing up the Chantry in DA2 coming AT ALL, and in retrospect, it seems so freaking obvious.

So onto the two surprising plot points from DAO. I really, honestly thought that the death of one of the characters (one of the ones I really liked, actually) was being heavily foreshadowed throughout the entire game. I was expecting a touching scene where she finally dies...and then it never came. On the one hand, I was just as glad not to lose a character I liked, but on the other, I was anticipating that moving, cathartic experience. (See: character deaths in Mass Effect 3). And then that made me wonder why I thought her eventual death seemed so obvious and how I could have been so far off. Interesting.

Right near the end there's a twist which I won't describe in detail because it would take too long, and for me, that one came out of nowhere. And DAMN, it was a good one. Just about on par with that aforementioned spoiler. I was really impressed by how it totally took me by surprise while still being coherent with the rest of the story. Some twists feel cheap and overly dramatic (and I'm sure there are some who would put this plot event in that category), but I had a completely enjoyable "OH SHIT!" moment.

So I still haven't come to a definitive conclusion on foreshadowing, how to do it properly, and what the right amount of it is. At least my opinions on the games stay strong.

This Post is Totally About Writing

Haha, no it isn't. It's about video games. But I'll bring it around to storytelling, I promise.

So I'm taking my little writing break. I read some books I wanted to read, and I've finally embarked on playing Dragon Age: Origins. From what I've heard from friends and the internet in general is that Origins and Dragon Age 2 (which I loved) are different enough in style that whichever you play first, you'll like that one better.

Truth be told, I'm not finding them to be THAT different style-wise and gameplay-wise. Then again, I heard a lot of people complained about the changes in battle controls between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, and I found them virtually identical. As I don't consider myself a hardcore gamer, maybe there's just some nuance there that's above my head. Either way, I'm getting by, and after spending a year making my way through the ME series, returning to the DA universe was a pleasant change of pace. Also, in DA, the screenshot function exists!

This is what my butt looks like when I stab an ogre in the eye.

I'm not done with the game yet (my rough estimate has me around halfway to two thirds through, not including the extra content), so I reserve the right to change my mind, of course. Right now, I think it's a great game, highly entertaining and difficult to put down. That said, I don't totally love it yet, and I've been trying to put my finger on why.

The universe is as detailed and complex as one would expect to find in a Bioware game, and I always have to marvel at the sheer amount of effort that went into worldbuilding. Also, there are a lot of innovative things going on with the plot that I really enjoyed. One section involves navigating through a dream-like world and having to shapeshift into different forms to complete the maze of puzzles, and while it was pretty trippy a la Alice in Wonderland, I thought that part was fantastic. Then there's a forest that has werewolves and sentient trees (most of which try to attack you). Currently, I'm exploring the dwarf kingdoms.

This tree asked a favor of me. Also, it only speaks in rhyme.

I've realized, though, that where the game is falling short for me is the characters, unfortunately. I'm not saying that they're bad or poorly-conceived. They're just not really doing anything for me. I LOVED the companions in DA2 (LOVED), some right off the bat and some with time. For example, I was kind of meh on Aveline for a while, but by the end of my first playthrough (and in subsequent playthroughs), I really grew to appreciate her. And while I spend 99% of the time wanting to slap Merrill across her stupid naive face, she's still got some great lines. (And wanting to slap someone is some form of emotional attachment, right?) The DAO cast isn't inspiring strong feelings in me either way. Most of them are just kind of...there.

And then there's the romance. When a friend of mine played the game a while ago, she told me that she wasn't really crazy about any of the romance options and she just went with the most obvious choice. I've wound up doing the same. It's cute and there are some sweet and funny dialogue exchanges, but again, I'm just not feeling the passion there (unlike with Anders my DA2 boyfriend ;) ).

You think I'm pretty? Eh, good enough.

In tying this into the writing process (aha! I told you I'd get there!), what it really boils down to is that characters can really make or break a story. You can have the most fantastic plot in a rich tapestry of a universe, but unless you have a fabulous cast to act it out, there's going to be a little something missing. Obviously this is subjective, and I know everyone has their own preferences in whatever media entertains them. But even as I think of my favorite books that are classified as more plot-driven than character-driven, they still have those complex characters to shape the story.

The number of times I used the word "character" in the above paragraph should indicate just how important they are. Crucial, even!

Promo - A Different Class, by Leigh Ellwood

 
I'm thrilled to host fellow Decadent author Leigh Ellwood today as she presents her first 1Night Stand Story. I don't know if going to your high school reunion counts as journeying to another world or traveling in time, but I know when I went to my *coughcoughmumble*th reunion a couple years ago, it was definitely an...interesting experience. Anyhoo, I'll turn things over to Leigh!

I am thrilled to be part of the Decadent family! The idea for A Different Class came about after an invitation arrived for an upcoming high school reunion. I asked myself what might happen if somebody felt reluctant to attend because of bad experiences and memories, and how one night arranged by Madame Eve changes everything.
 
Right now I am halfway into the follow-up to this story, another hot M/M. I hope you’ll pick up A Different Class, and if you enjoy it drop me a line on Twitter at @LeighEllwood.

Blurb:
FDR High Class of 2004 graduate, Glenn Carson contacts fellow alumni to get a list of who will be attending the upcoming festivities. One call to a disgruntled former student leaves him shaken—apparently, not everyone is looking forward to the reunion. Hoping to ease his frustration, he contacts the 1Night Stand service for a relaxing and passionate encounter.
 
Known as “Mumbles” to former classmates, Rod Maloney would prefer to focus on the present and his successful business. However, past tragedies continue to haunt him, so he requests Madame Eve find him a man to show him a hot time and help him forget his troubles.
 
Will their one night together lead to a reunion after all?

Buy Links:
Amazon  B&N  Decadent Goodreads

Excerpt:
“Mr. Maloney? I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
 
“Who is calling?”
 
The voice—deep and rich, anything but a mumble—intimidated him. Maybe the guy had been a jock, a several-foot-wide football player who helped the school win the championship senior year. He hadn’t attended many games and had skipped homecoming. “Um….” Right, we’re planning a reunion here. “I’m representing the reunion committee of the Franklin D. Roosevelt High School Class of 2004. You can probably guess our big tenth is coming up—”
 
“You know what? I’m going to save you the sales pitch,” Mumbles Maloney said. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t give a shit. It’s taken me a long time to get past all the crap I put up with in high school, and if you think I’m going to show up at some rented ballroom all smiles as though the hell you assholes you put me through never happened, forget it.”
 
What? The man’s anger surged through him and sped up his heartbeat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
 
“F*** you, f*** FDR High, and f*** every last piece-of-shit homophobe in that backwater town. I hope you all get cancer.”
 
Click.
 
Beth burst back into the room, waving a thick tome with a scaly blue cover. “Found it,” she chirped.
 
“Never mind.” Glenn pushed away from his workspace. Mumbles Maloney’s palpable rage lingered in the quiet of the small office, invoking a sense of doom in an otherwise dull place. He doubted he’d forget the voice for a long while. The man had pent-up issues with his former schoolmates, no doubt, yet for all the vitriol burning through the airwaves and sizzling in the veins, Mumbles had sounded…well….
 
Sexy.

About the Author: I am Leigh Ellwood. I write smutty stories about people who like getting naked and having sex. Some have more sex than others, some have sex with people of the same gender, some have sex with more than one person, and still others have sex with toys and things that require the use of batteries. My stories range from a few thousand words to well past 70k. My books are available at Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, Kobo, and ARe. 

Author Links:
Website
Blog
Facebook 

A Strange Feeling

I finished up and submitted my most recent project (more on that another time; regardless of how confident I feel, I'm always afraid of jinxing myself), meaning I have no WIPs going right now. As the post title says, it's a strange feeling: I always feel like I should be writing something, but at the same time, it's good to take a break every now and then to recharge the batteries.

I've owned Dragon Age: Origins ("owned" as in "paid money for") for almost a year and a half now, and I've only played a couple minutes of it. That has to change, especially since DA3 comes out this fall. The list of books I want to read never grows any shorter, so I have plans to tackle some of that as well. And, of course, there's always the day job, and we're getting started on remodeling our bathrooms in the House of Landen, and I have to squeeze knitting in there somewhere, etc.

On the flip side, my writer brain never ever ever ever ever ever ever stops running. It's a hamster on a wheel (especially when I'm trying to fall asleep). Just as the reading list never gets shorter, the list of stories I want to write is always expanding. I remember talking to one of my friends and fellow knitters in college, and the two of us agreed that there's no way we'll live long enough to knit everything we want to knit. The same goes for reading and writing.

I'll still be updating here (hopefully with good news!) while I take a little breather, but if you'll excuse me, there are some dragons that need my attention....