Tuesday, March 31, 2015

One Week Sale

For One Week, 4/1 through 4/7, Amber Quill is running all Brooks and Sparrow titles at 50% off.

http://www.amberquill.com/store/m/200-Angelia-Sparrow-/-Naomi-Brooks.aspx

Horrific carnivals and kinky contemporaries! Escaped murderers and roaring 20s adventurerers!


All of these titles are half price!

 

  
 


Saturday, March 28, 2015

My Sexy Saturday: Their Sexy Talk

This week’s theme is Their Sexy Talk and it’s all about how lovers talk to each other. We know you’ve noticed it. Whenever you get into a room of people, where there are other couples, notice how they talk to each other. Sometimes you can tell when there’s tension, other times you wonder just what makes them so happy and there are others still when their happiness is practically contagious.

There's one couple perfect for this challenge. Tom and Pelton from "Five Time Loser" collected in Into Dark Waters.



Blurb:
Tom is a truck driver with a woman and an apartment he rarely ever sees. One night a voice comes over the CB -- the Midnight Flyer, and before long he and Tom are flirting and exchanging pictures. What Tom doesn't know is that the Midnight Flyer, Pelton, is practicing the dark arts, trying to get rid of all the things that keep him and Tom apart.

The girlfriend, the apartment, the trailer on his truck, his job, one by one they all disappear until Tom is a five-time loser. Which is when the Midnight Flyer takes him in. There are more surprises for Tom, though. There's more to Pelton than meets the eye, and Tom might just end up a winner in the end.

Your Seven Sexy Paragraphs:

Tom turned down Ozzy and the boys and picked up the mike at that. “Hello, Teddy Bear. Need a ride? What exit do I take to get to Jackson Street, 229?” he asked, quoting the song.

The voice laughed at the reference, impossibly sexy. “This is the Midnight Flyer. I'm just stuck at home sick, and hoped somebody would want to talk at this obscene hour.”

“You got the Rainbow Rider. If you want to be obscene, come on back.”

The Flyer laughed. “Hi Rainbow. What's the weather?”

“All clear all night. Lotsa stars, a big fat moon and not a bear in sight.”

“Uh, Rainbow?” came another voice, sounding distant and crackly, “And all you westbounders on 70. You got a picture-taker 'bout two miles this side of the Missouri line. Comb your hair and smile pretty now.”

“Thank you, driver,” Rainbow said. “Now, Midnight, does your daddy know you're up this late and playing with his CB?”

Other Lovely People:

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Question of money

Are there enough people who would be willing to kick in for me to run a denture kickstarter? I know I still owe from last summer's. (Still working on getting even one of the books acceptable for publication)

I have dental insurance, but it's going to be several thousand dollars to get the rest of my teeth pulled (and the roots of the ones that have crumbled away removed).

I can't chew. I have literally 3/4 of a molar on the bottom and 2 on 
the opposite top sides. My bottom front teeth need to come out too. I'll want the mid-priced dentures, because the bottom ones are dull as spoons. (I've had a partial in the cheapest style and have had problems biting into things for years)

This is the most recent bit that broke off. Not very big, but makes a huge difference. Now, I don't have two molars on the right. I have 3/4 of one and 1/4 of another. And the remnants of a root canal on the top keep jabbing me in the lower gum, since the crown has broken off.













 

I look a proper witch, but living on soup is not my idea of a pleasant life. I can't chew cole-slaw!

So, any possibility of help, or is everyone stretched much too thin themselves?

Talking about the Clean Reader app

http://www.cleanreaderapp.com/ is a piece of work that censors your ebooks for you. Comers in three levels, "Clean. cleaner and squeaky clean."

So I downloaded it to see what it would do to my work. After all, shouldn't knock it until you try it.

So if any of you delicate fainting flowers who get your knickers knotted over the slightest four letter word are still reading my hardcore, gay science fiction and fantasy, here's how it looks.


Well foo. I got it all downloaded and now I can't figure out how to import my books into it.


For the Record, Nikolai Revenant contains:
2 uses of damn
1 of damned ("Some men were worth being damned for.")
8 hells, 2 as an actual place name
29 fucks: 7 uses as interjection,  15 verb,  6 adjective and 1 noun.
3 shits
3 bastard, one used to describe illegitimate children
5 balls, only 1 as a metaphor
4 of bitch

57 uses in 245 pages.  23 of them used properly and not as swearing.
(I'm not even counting cock and ass. those are only used as body parts)

I'm a fan of properly-used vulgarity. Few of my characters use profanity. They are either entirely too religious or not religious enough to swear by a deity.


So if you can handle
“Strip,” came Ligatos' soft command, and Nick stopped his hand from going to his own buttons when he realized Ligatos had not directed it at him. “Hands behind your back, on your knees on the bed, facing me.”

Nick ducked past the doorway, trying to be invisible. He pressed against the wall on the far side of it, and listened to David beg for a blindfold, then the sound of leather on skin and a yelp. He didn’t want to look. 

When he finally mustered the courage to steal a glimpse, he saw David flat on his back, blindfolded, hands beneath him, and weighted clamps on his nipples. Nick felt his cock go hard, although he could only see to David's waist. David bit his lips shut, clearly trying to stifle his whimpering. Ligatos stepped to his side, stripping out of his own clothing, concentrating entirely on the man in his bed. He watched as Ligatos straddled his teacher’s chest, and then fled to the front room.

I feel you should be able to handle

He couldn’t concentrate on the Italian. The shrieks, screams and moans from the bedroom distracted him. He found himself imagining what was happening and getting hard. He imagined it happening to him, pretended it was his voice saying “Fuck me, darling. Please?” instead of David’s. He didn’t dare rub off. He just sat, miserably hard, in Ligatos’ chair, smelling his Sir all around him, and wishing.


But, at base, if you want the Clean Reader, go for it. If you've paid for my book, I don't care what you do with it. Read it. Throw it across the room. Forget it on a shelf. I got the money.

Hells, you can make a Christmas angel out of it for all I care.




Just BUY THE BOOKS.

Http://Inkstainedsuccubus.com
Http://brooksandsparrow.com
Nikolai:http://www.inkstainedsuccubus.com/#!product/prd1/487858191/nikolai%3A-revenant

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Five Influences: Curse of the Pharaoh's Manicurists

This week's Five Influences blog should be fun. Because Curse of the Pharaoh's Manicurists is just a fun book. I'm trying to keep some of the fun as I finish up the sequel. But Terror of the Frozen North is a lot darker.


Buy Link
In the roaring '20s, Charlie Doyle, the ink still wet on his Dartmouth journalism degree, answers an ad for a job as secretary to Edward Kilsby, Lord Withycombe and renowned flying ace of the Great War. The ad leads him to expect excitement, but Charlie never expects quite so much.

When Edward is hired to find missing archaeologist Sir Alexander Spencer, Charlie is about to go for the ride of his life. A whirlwind tour of London, the Paris nightlife, a kidnapping by Edward's jilted fiancée and rival, Cairo, the Valley of the Kings, even the Orient Express all pale compared to what awaits Charlie and Edward in the tomb of Ni-ankh-khnum and Khnum-ho-tep, Overseers of the Manicurists in the Palace of the King.

But not mummies nor jilted lovers, not malaria nor Anubis himself can stop their quest...or their growing love for each other...

Five Influences:

1) Errol Flynn.

Naomi was rocking a Flynn muse at this time. We'd been binge-watching his movies, and had both read My Wicked Wicked Ways and a few other autobiographical things. As Jack Warner had before us, we found he looked dashing atop a horse or in a plane, but also had a fine hand with quieter pieces. (Four's a Crowd and Cry Wolf are very underrated movies)

You'll find him in a variety of books, Heart of a Forest, obviously, but also Alive on the InsideShowdown at Yellowstone RiverMan Huntand Long term

But most of all, he is Edward Kilsby, Lord Withycombe. WWI flying ace, with a voracious appetite for anything that comes his way, be it food, alcohol, tobacco, men, women or cars. (he's also one of the few characters in m/m fiction who smokes) In keeping with the muse, Edward is promiscuous and precocious. He's sent off to school at barely 13, after a scandal with a village girl.

(Bad photoshop is my middle name)

In my head, Charlie is a Nick, and hence an Aaron Stanford muse. But if we were to cast the movie, with entirely period actors, he would be James Mason. Nigel would be David Niven (Flynn's good friend and long-time roommate at Cirrhosis by the Sea). Sarah Brown would be Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck. This works in my head.



2) Young Sherlock Holmes. 

This 1985 movie was a grand adventure. (and I understand Nicholas Rowe, Sherlock, will be returning to acting for the forthcoming Mr. Holmes, which stars Sir Ian McKellan) It shaped how I view London, and it informs the structure of the books. 

In Terror, Charlie even makes up a dream that sounds suspiciously like Watson's pastry shop one. (also Edward smokes a brand of tobacco called Sherlock Holmes.)

 


3) Edgar Rice Burroughs.
I have been reading Burroughs since I was 9. He gives me my feel for swashbuckling. The original title was Lord Withycombe and the Curse of the Pharaoh's Manicurists, which my publisher found unwieldy. The prologue, in which I, myself, find my great-uncle Charlie's journal and decide to publish his adventures, is lifted wholesale from the Martian books.

4) The tomb of Ni-ankh-khnum and Khnum-ho-tep. 


Yes, the men on the cover are real. http://www.egyptology.com/niankhkhnum_khnumhotep/ is a virtual tour of their tomb.



"On the eastern wall of the offering chamber, the identical pair are shown in the most intimate embrace possible within the canons of ancient Egyptian art. Niankhkhnum is on the right grasping his companion's right forearm; Khnumhotep, on the left, has his left arm across the other man's back, tightly clasping his shoulder. Again the tips of the men's noses are touching and this time their torsos are so close together that the knots on the belts of their kilts appear to be touching, perhaps even tied together. Here, in the innermost private part of their joint-tomb, the two men stand in an embrace meant to last for eternity."

I found this in some long-forgotten web search and KNEW I had to write about them.


5) Young Lady Chatterly


(yes, that's the whole movie)

A soft core 1970s porn might seem an odd influence. But I was watching it last night and facepalming over how much of it made its way in. The adorable maids, who are fighting for attention. The competent housekeeper. The fancy car and wickedly beautiful stable boy.


So there are your five influences.
If you want a sample of what the music of the time sounds like, including Charlie's favorite, "Roses of Picardy," here's the playlist: 


Fill and Thrill coming to FroliCon

I'm doing a Fill and Thrill promotion, because I have a con over Easter weekend. With each book purchased, the customer gets a plastic egg.
There are goodies in the egg.

I'm thinking a 10% next purchase coupon, redeemable online or immediately (not for the book they just bought but on the next one).
Candy in all of them.

There should be something else.
A token to claim a grab-bag in some of them?
A coupon for a free paperback or ebook?
A flash drive with all the InkySooky backlist?
One with my backlist?

What would you, con-going book-buyers want?

Saturday, March 21, 2015

My Sexy Saturday: Our Sexy Tomorrow

This week’s theme is Our Sexy Tomorrow and there are a lot of ways an author can define this theme. It could be about a couple who’ve been together a long time. It could be about a couple who is heading into a sexy tomorrow for the first time. It could lovers having one last time for whatever reason.



This week's is from "Plumbing the Depths," collected in Into Dark Waters. When Frank Stett died on an alien world, Cliff and Jake, his surviving husbands, had to figure out how to make their tri-bond work as a pair. Each has been too wrapped up in his own injuries and grief to care about the other, until a mission requires them to work together.

Your Seven Sexy Sentences:

He wrapped one arm around Jake and they walked down the ramp to face the world’s questions. Until finally a reporter asked the one Cliff had been waiting to hear.

“Commander Cody, what are you going to do now?”

Cliff squeezed Jake in a little tighter and looked down into Jake's blue glass eyes. Jake nodded. Cliff smiled, then looked at the reporter. “I’m going to go home and make love to my husband.”





Saturday, March 14, 2015

Guest blogging on Bisexuality

http://www.jimchines.com/2015/03/text-subtext-pieced-together-lives-sparrow

I'm over at Jim Hines' blog today, talking about growing up bi in the 70s and 80 vs growing up bi today.


Pi(e) Day

It's 3.1415

This is one of the High Holy Days in Supernatural fandom. And if it's not, it should be.


So, we're having pie. I love pie. It was one of the first things I learned to make in my own kitchen as a new bride.

Two of my favorite savory pies:

Pork pies
1 lb. bulk pork sausage
1 c. cubed cooked ham
1/2 tsp. sage
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 medium green pepper, chopped (opt)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 c. sliced apples (about 4 medium)
Pastry (below)

Brown sausage in 10" skillet; drain. Stir in ham, sage, pepper, green pepper, onion, celery and soup. Divide among 6 ungreased 10 oz. casseroles (or 1 two-quart) Place apples on top. Prepare pastry. Gather into ball; roll out 1" larger than top of casserole(s) (divide into six, if making individual) Place on casserole, seal to edge of casserole; cut slits in top. Bake 375° until crust is brown, about 30 minutes. 6 servings.

Pastry:
1/3 c. + 1 Tbsp. shortening
1 c. flour
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 Tbsp. cold water
Cut shortening into flour, cheese and salt until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle in water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry comes free of sides.

Aussie beef pies
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed
1 onion
1 jar (2.5 oz) sliced mushrooms
3 Tbsp. ketchup
1 1/2 tsp. Lawry's seasoned salt
2 8 oz cans crescent rolls
1 egg, beaten

Brown beef, drain. Add spinach, onion, mushrooms, ketchup and seasoned salt. Blend well. Saute 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 4 rectangles. Smooth perforation to seal. Repeat with remaining dough. Place generous 1/4 c. filling on each rectangle. Fold dough over, seal with fork. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake, uncovered 350° for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serves 8.


And several of my favorite Sweet pies:

Makes Own Crust Coconut Pie
4 eggs
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. melted butter
2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine in vertical order. Mix well. Pour into greased 10" pie pan. Bake 350° for 45 minutes, until golden brown.

Toll-House Walnut Pie
2 eggs
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. butter, melted and cooled
1 pkg (6 oz) semi sweet chips
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 9" unbaked pie shell

Beat eggs until foamy; beat in flour, and sugars. Blend in melted butter. Stir in chips and walnuts. Pour into pie shell. Bake 1 hour at 325°.

Chocolate Truffle Pie
2 c. milk
2 1oz squares unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 9" pastry shell, unbaked

Heat milk and chocolate until well blended. In bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Beat eggs, until just blended, add to sugar with vanilla. Stir to blend, gradually add chocolate. Pour into shell. Bake 400° for 35 minutes, covering crust with foil for last 10-15 minutes. Cool.

Prince of Wales Pie

1 single crust baked pie shell
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2/3 c. butter
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 c. golden raisins
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 Tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips

Combine brown sugar, butter and milk in saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to boil. Cook 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Mixture scorches easily. Remove from heat, stir in nuts and raisins. Pour into shell. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Wait 1 minute until they have melted. With a fork, gently stir and swirl melted chocolate on pie into pretty pattern. Chill until firm.


And because no geeky pie day is complete for the Sherlockians without it:

Banoffee:
Crust:
14 oz package of fudge striped shortbread cookies
stick of butter

Turn the cookies into very fine crumbs, melt the butter and mix. Press into pie plate. Chill

Slice into pie crust
2 large ripe bananas

Boil over low heat:
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2/3 c. butter
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Be careful, it scorches easily. Bring it to a boil for seven minutes. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour over bananas

Top with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.

(this is not necessarily authentic, just the way I prefer it)

Saturday, March 7, 2015

My Sexy Saturday: Sexy Me Once

We all know that love happens and we want to know all about those special moments where those entities realize there is an emotional bond between one another. It can happen on an average day, during the night, in the middle of a zombie invasion or maybe a place where it’s hard to tell the day from the night like in a submarine or deep in space. The one thing we do know it’s going to be hot…hot…HOT!

I'm currently hard at work on the sequel to this, so have some Edward and Charlie from Curse of the Pharoah's Manicurists





Seven Sexy Paragraphs: 
Charlie rubbed his cheek against Edward’s wrist. “I’m not sure. I feel terribly silly, as if the world’s not quite real. Or as if I’m not quite real.”

Edward never stopped touching him. “Well, you won’t feel so silly tomorrow. I’ll make sure the ladies don’t go knocking on your door too early.”

Charlie sighed softly. “Thank you.” He settled in, making himself more comfortable on Edward’s shoulder. They rode the rest of the short distance to the town house and Edward parked the car. 

Neither man moved for a few moments and then Edward tipped Charlie’s face up to him. “Is this real?” he asked. He kissed Charlie, his lips soft and warm, moving very gently.

Charlie nodded as Edward let him up. “Very real.” He stretched up, trying to get closer to Edward’s lips. “The only real thing in the world.” 

He finally reached Edward’s mouth and tasted it. More soothing than the tea, more warming than the brandy, Edward tasted of both and of the tobacco and of himself. Charlie flicked his tongue over Edward’s lips, trying for more of his taste and Edward opened to him. The warm wetness of his mouth encouraged Charlie and he plunged deep, taking what he’d wanted since the first day he’d seen Edward. Charlie was dimly aware of big hands on the side of his face, holding him close. He became more aware as they eased him away, breaking the kiss.

“It’s late, Charles. And you are going to have a sore head tomorrow.” He kissed Charlie’s forehead. “Up to bed with you. I’ve already taken shameless advantage of your first intoxication.”



Thursday, March 5, 2015

Five Influences

Five Influences on Adventuresses


Adventuresseswebcover

Adventuresses, a collection of lesbian short stories, is one of Inkstained Succubus' steadiest sellers. The idea came about because the Literary Underworld had many requests for lesbian stories since they had several gay books on the rack. I had two pieces of 10,000+ words that had come out from under contract, as well as about 6000 more of the trucker lesbians. So I put it all together, wrote a few more and went from there.

But where did the ideas for the stories themselves come from?

1) Ice Pirates.

The diner scene in "Rewriting Old Songs" is lifted almost wholesale from the bar scene in Ice Pirates.
th
"Now you owe the lady and me an apology."

2) "A Thorough Examination/In Depth" (audio fic here)

I didn't know I HAD a medical fetish until I encountered this very dark bit of Sherlock fanfic. But apparently I did. It inspired some of the medical play in "Induced Paroxysms." There are a lot of other inspirations to that piece, including FroliCon and many steampunkers of my acquaintance.

3) "Mummy Medusa" by Skinny White Chick. (go, listen, I'll wait)

Because s00j rocks beyond the telling of it and this song is amazing. The backstory is, once upon a time, Medusa and Rapunzel fell in love with the same man. At a concert, she said "of course, if I wrote this as fiction, they'd probably fall for each other. In "Rock Us All Down," they do exactly that.

4) "John Wesley Harding" by Bob Dylan



"Carried a gun in every hand." This line made me wonder how many hands he had. Which in turn, gave me the image of the four-armed gunslinger in "That time they talk about." That's one universe I would like to revist. There are a lot of influences on that story, including Kornbluth's "Two Dooms" from the Hitler Victorious anthology, King's The StandHeavy Metal and any number of old western movies.

5) This picture.
janis_post11

It was a very popular poster of Janis Joplin and it inspired the lesbian scene in "Eight Days Ablaze." Ellora's Cave made me cut the scene, so I reworked it for this book, called it by the original title, "Burning for Eight Days" and let Adina have her sapphic fun.

What other books would you like to see the influences for?