...but, uh, not enough to actually accept the story. Hmmm...

This, btw, is Cathie Culver's debut effort, which several of you were kind enough to give me advice on submitting *hugs you all*. The mag sent it back with a request for a reworking of a couple of really quite small bits - and blimey, that was quick! I only sent it in last Friday, and we're talking snailmail here! *blows a kiss to the slushpile fairy*

So, have done a quick rewrite and will send it back. Fingers crossed!

In other news: the Dreamspinner Press Mistletoe Madness stories are now on individual sale, including mine:


Pleasures with Rough Strife

(piccy is a linky) :D

( Excerpt )

...something a little odd. But I'm enjoying it, so what the hell?
I hope you'll like it. Because, dear flist, it is for you! :D

Hint: one of the romantic leads is really rather wooden...

Torquere Books has a sale on!

15% off everything! Just type thanks09 into the coupon code when you check out to get the 15% off discount applied to your purchase. Better be quick though - this code is only valid until midnight tonight EST! Which is 5am on good old British time - and let's face it, if you're still awake then you could probably do with a good book... ;D

In case you were wondering what to get... *self-pimps shamelessly* ;D

Good Company

ETA: Those are all e-books, but they are also offering discounts of up to 50% on selected print books.

On the urgings of a friend, I wrote something that can only be described as mainstream. A gentle romance between two persons of pensionable age and of different genders. There is not the merest whiff of sex, although there are cricket, children, a dog and cooking.

Somehow, it didn't seem appropriate to submit it to a magazine under the name of JL Merrow, purveyor of gay porn to the discerning reader.

And thus was Cathie Culver born. But now I have a quandary; on submitting to a new market, normally I'd do everything I could to big myself up by mentioning previous publications. But... Cathie Culver hasn't done anything!

Soooo... should I mention her relatively racy alter ego? Or would it be better just to sweep all that under the figurative carpet, as far as this new market is concerned?

I am a happy bunny today, for not only did I go to karate, I also popped into the shops, where I saw this: ( The Gayest Advent Calendar Evah )

Gah! No sooner has the dust settled on

Under the Mistletoe
World Enough and Time
Pleasures with Rough Strife

than I read of a historical fantasy called The Green Man. What was the title of that historical with elements of fantasy I've got coming out from Torquere in April? Oh yes. The Green Man *sighs, and goes back to drawing board*


Title!fail? I haz it.

I am easily confused by matters of a technical nature, so can any kind person tell me precisely how one embeds a story into an e-mail?

(as requested by Queered Fiction in their yummy-looking submission calls)

Yay! First review (at least, first I've seen) for The Care and Feeding of Demons

Rainbow Reviews has given it 5 stars! *bounces*

And okay, I'm biased, but I have to say I totally agree with the reviewer: All in all, this is a very sexy, very engaging set of stories about demon/human relationships. You won't be disappointed.

My story, A Calling for Pleasure, features the debut of Rael the (male) succubus. There will be more from him coming from Torquere - I'll keep you posted!

Yup, it's those pesky werecats again. *sigh* Finally amputated a scene the long-suffering and invariably right penelopefriday told me to get rid of ages ago. *sniffles at reduced word count*

Size queen? Who? Me? ;D

Apparently my muse is under the impression that we are attempting NaNo this year, as we managed another 3.6k between us today. Valentine's story is now nearly done! (I am one orgasm short of a sex scene *g*)

Didn't manage to get the vampire story finished, but I have a pretty good idea what I want to write (yup, sex); it's just a matter of getting it down.

I also did the edits for the menage story due out in January, and learned how to do straight quotes courtesy of my kind editor. :D

So the writing has been going rather well. Unfortunately, I have achieved absolutely nothing else...
*looks guiltily at accounts files in corner, not to mention bomb site that is rest of house*

Mmm, the sun has been shining all day, the kids are back at school, and my muse has scampered back from wherever it was cowering all through half term. :D

Yup, even I am impressed: I've managed almost 5k today. That's 3k on a WIP, and 2k on a new short story. Which includes both endings, so I just have some middles to do (including the sex scenes, which I strongly suspect will go much more easily after a glass of Merlot tonight!)

And the cherry on the top: I had an email today to say that Torquere have accepted Rael the succubus' second story! It's the sequel to my story A Calling For Pleasure in the Care and Feeding of Demons anthology. It'll be a Single Shot, as it's almost twice as long as the first one. :D

Yay! The lovely and well-read Jenre has reviewed the Scared Stiff Taste Test recently released by Torquere. You can read the review on Jessewave's blog here! :D

The Taste Test contains stories by me, Sunny Moraine and Mercy Loomis.

You can find an excerpt from my story on the Torquere site, and an excerpt from Mercy's story is featured on elisa_rolle's LJ here

*collapses in exhaustion from all that coding* ;D

Okay, cutting, because it seems I do have some shame after all:

( Read more... )

Two bits of squee to report: Rael the sex demon (about whom I've posted before, with an excerpt here) is now available in e-book: the Torquere anthology The Care and Feeding of Demons was released yesterday! :D

As well as Rael's story, you can find contributions by fantastic authors such as Kiernan Kelly, Sean Michael, Julia Talbot and Kate Roman! *bounces*

And I'm thrilled to announce that another demon story of mine is to be published by Dreamspinner! It's a very different sort of story than Rael's, although equally dear to my heart, and is currently titled Angel. But, heh, based on recent luck you can expect that to change a few times before it comes out... ;D

The Christmas story is going through titles like nobody's business. *sigh*

Under the Mistletoe
World Enough and Time
Pleasures with Rough Strife. Available as part of the Dreamspinner Advent Calendar package

Fingers crossed that this one sticks! ;D

When I wrote Through a Western Door, I wasn't initially sure where I was going with it.

Chris and Henry in the following ficlet are… not exactly Sam and James from Through a Western Door. But this is a direction the story might have gone in, and didn’t.

( Lost )

I'll be over at torquere_social today with the lovely, talented and extremely forebearing Sunny Moraine and Mercy Loomis, who are my co-authors in the new Scared Stiff Taste Test released yesterday.

Come on over for excerpts, a competition and discussions of the spooky kind! :D

Okay, I may have lied about the long-leggity beasties, but there are certainly ghosties and ghoulies, and things most definitely go bump in the night!

Where? In the new Scared Stiff Taste Test from those lovely people at Torquere Press!

Featuring three spooky stories, by me, Sunny Moraine and Mercy Loomis, it's out today - just in time to get you warmed up (or should that be thoroughly chilled?) for Halloween! ;D

You can find a taster of my story by following the link. :D

Yup, in all the excitement earlier, I forgot to post an excerpt! So here it is:

( excerpty goodness )

I have an evil pumpkin…

The husband and the daughter brought it home at the weekend from Ye Olde Pumpkyn Fayre. It is easily the largest pumpkin I’ve ever seen close up, although possibly my life has been somewhat sheltered, curcurbita-wise.

It looks (excuse pun) a bit squashed and although not yet carved, it still manages to give the impression that it is glaring at me across the room. Biding its time until the 31st when it will wreak its awful orange vengeance. Am reminded of the Buffy episode with the zombie-raising tribal mask: “It’s angry at the room. It wants the room to suffer.”

Expect the dead to start walking around Hertfordshire any day now…

In other news: Bedknobs and Beanstalks is out today!

Featuring my story “The King’s Honor”, an m/m retelling of The Twelve Dancing HussiesPrincesses, plus the following:

( under the cut )