New Release Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law: what can go wrong will go wrong,  is something everyone has suffered at one time in their life, or if they haven't yet, they're going to. It's bad luck, or it's fated. Either way, you'll know it when it's happened to you, and for most people it's a shrug of the shoulders, for some it's a nightmare. For David, it's a way of life.



Fed up of trying to fly under his step family's radar, David sets off to Australia to get away from their constant harassment. Maybe there he can be himself, be free, be with someone who can help him forget about his problems for a while. Meeting Scott, who not only thinks he's sexy but shows him how much over and over again, is perfect. And Scott doesn't care that he's accident prone. Well, David is everything prone; what can go wrong does. And falling in love with someone he nearly kills is about as wrong as it can get.

Scott likes his sex uncomplicated, preferably with someone just passing through, but his family want him to settle down with some nice young man. To get away from their meddling he heads to Bondi Beach. That's where he meets David, a man who just pushes his buttons, and the fact that he's looking for the same thing Scott is, makes him ideal. However, he falls in love with David--sassy attitude, accidents, and adorable accent included. But how is Scott going to persuade David to stay with him, especially as David's seriously upset about nearly getting him killed?

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices.

To read and excerpt click here.

2 Taboo?

A few years back, I was developing a science fiction romance that I suspected would branch out into a series.  That book was Belle Starr, and I’ve since set other books in that same fictional universe. As I was world building, I stumbled across the excerpt for a m/m twincest romance. It shocked me, not only the topic, but the idea that a publisher would take the risk and put out a book with a subject so taboo. After all, this is the sort of thing that puts people into counseling, here in real life.

By education, I’m a historian and cultural anthropologist. I have a passion for learning about the cultures of others, which may explain why I enjoy writing in genres where world building is a requirement. While I was shocked by the idea of a twincest book, I was also fascinated and plunged into research on the subject. While I didn’t find any cultures that condoned m/m twincest, I was surprised to find that there are several societies where m/f twins are not only allowed, but expected to be joined in marriage. One Asian culture believes that the twins have been living in intimate contact during gestation, so they are morally obligated to marry. A Native American tribe has the tradition that twins were star-crossed lovers who lost or missed one another in a previous existence. Thus, the Gods have ensured that they would always be together.

While I was developing the supporting aliens in the Coalition universe, I decided to utilize the idea of twincest in a setting that felt normal and healthy. Thus, when I created the sensual, beautiful Somian species, they were conceived as a twin culture. Children are always born in same sex pairs. While they are close, they are not incestuous. In fact, they believe that twins are aspects of one person. When one of the pair dies, the other often cannot function without his or her sibling. In the book An Uncommon Whore 2: When I Fall, the tragedy of a twin orphan is demonstrated with the Somian ambassadors, Leighe and Ghlen.

There is a second element to the Somian: on very, very rare occasions, opposite sex twins are born. When this occurs, the brother and sister are always married and mated. Their offspring are prodigies…sheer genius. These are the children who push the evolutionary development of the Somian forward. In the upcoming book “The Bacchi,” you will meet Drakh and Balor Partain. They are the sons of a mated twin pair, and play a very important role in the book.

The title character of The Bacchi is Lefi Dhrahn, a twin orphan and highly esteemed prostitute. When he meets to rigid, controlled police inspector Afton Teris, he knows he’ll someday seduce the Valoran. When he doesn’t expect is to become friends…and then lovers.

To learn more about the Valoran, visit my blog for Alien 101: The Valoran.

 BLURB:
The Bacchi Lefi Dhrahn lives a life of luxury and decadence, but is tortured by memories of a lost love. He survives the pain by surrounding himself with sex, beauty and all forms of self-indulgence. When he meets the alluring Inspector Afton Teris, Lefi believes the detective will make a very nice addition to his string of conquests.

He doesn’t count on falling in love.

Afton Teris is a Valoran hermaphrodite and like all members of his species, is stern, cerebral and disapproves of the frivolous prostitute. Afton orients as a male, but the beautiful Lefi Dhrahn stirs him sexually, making him question everything he knows about himself. To further confuse his emotions, Afton finds himself tempted by the forbidden pleasures surrounding the Bacchi.

When a kidnapping ring strikes close to home, the two go undercover on a brothel barge to investigate a slavery operation. There, Lefi is confronted by painful memories from his past, while Afton is faced with a horror that threatens his future, and perhaps his very life. 

Their survival lies with one another, but only if Lefi can set aside his pain and listen to his heart.

(Warning: m/m content, m/f content, intersexed character.)

The Bacchi releases July 31 at http://www.loose-id.com

Belinda’s website: http://www.belindamcbride.com

Blog: http://www.belindam.blogspot.com

Even in the darkness

Every color can be found. --Penny from Dr. Horrible

I'm sure by now most of you have heard about the tragedy in Colorado. It's sad that people at a movie theater weren't safe due to an insane human being.

Like other tragedies, tales of heroism circulate. Three (or four, I've seen two different headlines) young men lay down their lives to protect their girlfriend. A thirteen year old tried to save the six year old by giving CPR. One young woman would not leave her wounded friend. A young man helped a young mother get her baby and child out.

Every time there is an event like this, Columbine, Virginia Tech, earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Katrina, there are stories of intense bravery. Crisis calls and people step up to the task at hand.

I think the only way I can hear about events like this and not lose my mind with 24 hour, 7 day coverage is to focus on the good that came out of it.

Still my heart and prayers go out to everyone affected in Colorado, especially those hurt and the families of those injured and murdered.

Mechele Armstrong
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com/

Do You Dream in Color?

More importantly, do you dream in plots?

I usually do both.  I’ve used vivid dreams as a basis for a number of stories, whether it be resolutions, plot points, characters or even some vital scene in the middle.  

If I think the idea has any validity for a story, I’ll get up and write it down.  Sometimes it’s sexy, sometimes it’s funny and sometimes it’s scary.  Three of my books have been greatly affected by plot points I’ve had in dreams.  The blackest moment for Cooper in Blood Relations?  That was a dream, in all it’s gory detail.  Lucky me… uh…

Then again, sometimes you’re not quite sure why your subconscious comes up with things.

The other night, after a fairly innocuous night of watching White Collar and Covert Affairs, I went to sleep.  Where I dreamt about digging up dead bodies with both Sherlocks.  Yep, Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr.  Okay, so maybe my subconscious was being really, really good to me, despite the clear anachronism of having the two of them interact.  I also dreamt that I helped a werewolf find his mate, although that involved a rather unfortunate amount of peeing on the carpet. 

Then, the good times ended when I dreamt I inhaled a wood chip, woke up and spent an hour coughing before remaining awake for the rest of the night.  Not much on the way of story ideas, sadly, except perhaps some slash Sherlock on Sherlock fan fiction, I suppose.  Blog fodder isn’t too bad, either ; )

But as I’d said, I do often rely on dreams for ideas either to start stories or to get past a hurdle or add a different subplot.  Anyone else use dreams for inspiration?

KC Burn

Do spoilers ruin your enjoyment of a story?

The other day I was talking with a friend about movie spoilers and whether they ruin the experience of watching the movie, specifically spoilers that give away the plot twists in thrillers or mysteries. She mentioned a study that she’d heard about last year that examined spoilers and books.

I found this article referencing the study: Spoilers Don't Ruin Stories from The Huffington Post. It posed some interesting questions.

The author of the article asked, “is plot irrelevant, and is a story really about the process as opposed to the result? Or are there just two types of people in this world -- ones that enjoy spoilers and ones who don't?”

Other paraphrased points/questions the article raised:

• Is the value of a story in how it’s told?
• Do readers enjoy books where they know the outcome more because it’s easier to read?
• Does it lessen the stress of “negative” plot twists to know they are coming?

One of my nieces does three things to sample stories before she selects a book. She reads the first page, a page in the middle, and the very last page. She does this to get a sense of the style of writing to make sure it’s something she’ll want to read for an entire novel and to check that none of the characters she may come to care for are going to die in the end.

I imagine with only three sampled pages she might miss a major character dying off, but it seems to be a system that works for her. She devours books and speed-reads at an astounding rate. Apparently, knowing the end of the story does not diminish her enjoyment of reading. In fact, I’d say it helps her lessen the “severe emotional stress” the Huffington Post article refers to, so she can sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey.

To some extent, I can understand that. When I read a romance, I expect the two (or more) people the story is about to end up together and for the arc of their relationship to have a satisfactory, happy ending. This, of course, can be subjective. My definition of “happy” and someone else’s might not mesh. When I finish a romance and it doesn’t fit my brand of happy, I’m disappointed and wished I’d known the ending going into the book. I might have read it anyway or I might have picked a more romantic story.

What do you think? Do you mind spoilers for the books you read?

What about books that are heavy on mystery or suspense? Would you like to know how it all works out in the end before you start the book?

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSloanParker
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sloanparker 

A little more heat

Because the dragons are loose at Loose Id! 

Fire Riders 3: Beyond the Fire released overnight!! I'm excited and Snoopy dancing all over the place.

When I first decided I was going to write a dragon trilogy, I wanted it to be a true trilogy, one that was interconnected and the true "ending" was at the end of the third book. I've learned a whole lot writing this series. For anyone who felt the ending of the first book, Taming the Fire, wasn't wrapped up enough...I think you'll enjoy the ending of Beyond the Fire. Not only does Beyond the Fire wrap up Rogin, Hallah, and Dunstan's story, but there is a consolidation of Geant, Alin, and Elesia's story as well as Mira, Byron, and Callum's story.

Blurb: Neither Lord Rogin nor Lady Hallah is thrilled to be marrying the other to unite their kingdoms and stop all the fighting. Lady Hallah wonders if she will be able to keep her dragon rider lover, Dunstan, and runs to him for one last tryst. When Rogin walks in on them, the last thing she expects is for Dunstan and Rogin to kiss.

But kiss they do. Only Lord Rogin knows he can't be in a permanent relationship with the two Wardonans because his people won't consent to it. It doesn't matter what he might want, even after the kiss ignites all his senses.



On the journey back to Eastania for the wedding, Dunstan dares Rogin to share a tent with Hallah and him to see what he'd be missing. Rogin takes him up on the challenge but finds himself more and more tempted each day.



When tempers fly and Eastanians let Rogin know in no uncertain terms they won't accept him with two Wardonan lovers, what choices can he make to still unite their people and get what he desires at the same time? Will he go beyond the fire and do the mating marks to unite them for eternity?



To read an excerpt.

I hope everyone has a a wonderful 4th of July tomorrow (celebrating or not). Stay safe!

May the muses have dragons
Mechele