first draft stuff!

Hey all. I have some very rough unedited stuff from the new novel to show you. This book is a prequel to No Deadly Thing, set far back in history. There probably won't be a direct bridge to the events of Ashrinn's world, but this one needed to be done so I could figure out the cultural basis for the Wolfen. 

Again, this will probably change with edits, edits, and moar edits, but here's a sneak peek anyway:

6 Sky waited at the foot of the temple, gazing up at its steep sides. The masks carved in to the cliff face at the top caught the sun each day, the leering faces glowing gold and red in turn. The humans came out in to the ball court at high noon to play the sacred game, presenting offerings and tithes to the Lord of the city. Their chanting reverberated even in to the caves of the Bat wayob, stirring the soulchangers and mundane kin alike.

The human priests wove golden feathers in to their capes and coats and heaped praises on the Lord and his council, calling down the light and its blessings. The jungle made it easy to revel in signs of life. Everything from the bright birds to the chattering monkeys to the moist, warm air reminded the humans that the days belonged to them.

But at night, the humans hid and cold hung between the trees like funeral cloth. The mortals sensed that the moon belonged to the wayob and to women, when the path to Xilbaba stood open. 6 Sky knew that if they won the city from the Jaguar people, she would be headed to that same Underworld soon enough. She looked up at the White Path, the trail of stars that made up the branches of the sacred ceiba tree, the Raised Up Sky. She felt no fear. How could she, when the glory of the gods and goddesses was right there for the naked eye?

She stood straight and proud as her mother tucked white flowers in to her hair and hung sacred jewelry around her neck. The gold and jewels felt heavy and cold. Yet, her heart felt hot in her breast. Already 6 Sky could imagine the void child holding it in her claw, still beating, ready to be eaten.

Update + new book in the works

Hi guys. Yes, I'm still alive. I have to be careful about how I use the internet for my own health, but things have been getting steadily better. Every time I identify a trigger I gain power over it. Anything that contributes to my autonomy is a plus.

Now that said, I've started the next book. I'm going backwards in time and fleshing out the mythology that informs the present in terms of the Twisted Tree world. This could turn in to a trilogy all its own. If you're in to really immersing yourself in a big world with a lot of things happening, this is truly the series for you. Technically it's urban fantasy but as I go forward as an author it becomes apparent to me that these works have more in common with epic fantasy than anything. They're quite character driven and probably always will be.

I bet many of you have manuscripts that suck. They sit in bottom drawers and on closet shelves, tucked away in shame somewhere. Well, so do I but I'm going to mine them for good ideas and apply my current skills to them. This book (books?) is one of those stories. It's turning in to something I'm proud of. Once I'm a little more solid as to where I am going plot wise, I'll post some excerpts.

A friend's creative stuff

Hey, my friend Chelsea has an Indiegogo up for her new book. Check it out!

Link salad

And now for something completely different.

I give the side eye to any article that mentions The Help in a favorable light, but it's only a small bullet point in an otherwise very interesting article. Kelsey McKinney writes about how It's Frustratingly Rare to Find a Novel About Women That's Not About Love

Dear fandom, I have sinned. I am not a big fan of Joss Whedon. I know, I know. But even so the guy has some good advice on how to get shit done, which lord knows we all have problems with.

Who I am as a writer can in part be summarized thus: I like to take tropes and twist them. I've always thought of No Deadly Thing as a fractured fairy tale of sorts. Oh, I ought to warn you that the first link is to a T.V. Tropes page. Abandon all hope of productive work, ye who click here.

So, Laurell K. Hamilton's newest Anita Blake book, Affliction, is out. Fangs for the Fantasy has a review up here . I am weirdly obsessed with LKH. I find her gender politics absolutely disgusting, the treatment of rape as well, not rape really gross, and the blatant homophobia deplorable. Yet at the same time these books have hidden gems there that I just want to dig out of the mud and admire. She deals with things that I want to address in my books (polyamory, BDSM). She writes a world like mine. But she has been off the rails for at least ten books. I don't understand! I can't stop watching!

In positive news, Donate to the Carl Brandon Society!

Robert Lashley is the smartest. Seriously, check this guy out.

And since I think it's important to spread love as well as outrage, Warren Buffet continues to be a class act.

Peace out.

"his ripeness"

His ripeness is apparently an erection and not an alarming snakebite or worrisome reaction to shellfish.

LKH calls being double penetrated being "double berthed."

Discuss.

P.S. Chelsea is now snarking Incubus Dreams. Don't miss it.

Wish me luck!

The James Tiptree Jr. Award

Thanks to Nisi Shawl for telling me about this opportunity. It was awesome to share Dealer space with you at Norwescon!

Interview

Hello friends.

In the next few days I will be appearing on Writing the Other, like some sort of poorly evolved coffee powered pokemon.

Hopefully my interview won't be like this, though I frequently feel this way when writing.

Oh yeah. Go here to get the book. Right now it's e-book only, but we're working on the print formatting right now so stay tuned if you want to touch and smell all those delicious pages, you Luddite.

I'm just teasing. How can you argue with "A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness..." ?

Still, if you prefer the special smell of your Kindle or other reading device, there's an app for that!

Thanks for reading.