Whenever I criticise someone else’s writing, especially in a public arena, I’m immediately nervous that someone is going to use my own criticism against me, or just outright attack me. This is a fairly valid fear in this day and age of internet…
Writers crave attention. We want people to write paragraphs and paragraphs on our stories and characters and worlds, and while we want to be told how great we are, we also want people to tell us where we went wrong. This is where constructive criticism…
Smashwords
The Hunt (free; urban fantasy, slight folklore): When winter comes, he feels the call again.
Blood Claim (.99; urban fantasy, smutty): Antisocial mage Valentine Greyfeather is used to working alone and being his own boss but gets more than he bargained for when an underwater demon lays claim to him. In a life or death situation, only a stronger claim can save him - like one made by his new partner, Kellan.
Darkly Dreaming (1.99; urban fantasy, fantasy, mild horror, supernatural; possible trigger warning for homophobia in Last Cigarette): Short story collection.
Troll Farm: a short little soft horror story about a reporter who visits a goat farm run by trolls.
Tiger, Tiger: a college student encounters a type of incubus and discovers there’s a beast inside all of us.
The Pusher: a cubicle slave learns that dreams are like drugs, and carry their own price
Last Cigarette: the power of love and friendship, and the cost of hate.Un Histoire Officielle de Bob et Les Zombies (.99; horror, smutty, sarcastic humour): Not in French. A sudden outbreak of zombies on a hot summer day sends college student Dane and frozen yogurt stand employee Killian running for their lives through a Canadian mall.
Soch Writes (my website, all stories posted on it are free but I’m not going to say no to donations; general warning for smuttiness, language, violence, and assholery)
Novels
Ashfall (prologue only; fantasy; sequel to The Rising Fire, which is off at Harper Voyager somewhere)
Bonewitch (WIP; urban fantasy):
Arden Viljoen is a bonewitch, a magic user who uses bones to cast spells and can speak to/see the dead. After stealing part of a dead man’s finger, she finds herself haunted by his ghost, who claims to have been murdered and demands she find his killer. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Arden’s been on the radar of a slightly obsessive cop named Caleb O’Riley, and his interruption early one morning causes her to bind the ghost to the fingerbone instead of banishing him. When she’s attacked shortly after by a strange creature, she finds herself caught up in the plans of an ancient mage who is determined to destroy her and steal the life of the ghost’s older brother.Ricochet Effect (WIP; sci-fi): College students Nila and Sireno make a decent living off competing in online tournaments in the global network NetLife, but after meeting the mysterious Ricochet, they discover parts of NetLife aren’t as friendly as they appear.
Sand Wolf (WIP; urban fantasy): Werewolves and magicians, oh my.
Silent Desert (WIP; urban fantasy, fantasy):
A rogue storm sweeps Ciaran overboard during what’s supposed to be a holiday boating trip with his boyfriend Alejandro, sending him to a desert in another world - a world where those without magic are put down like rabid animals and a king will sacrifice his own son for his kingdom.
Isendiar is the eighth son of the Desert King, bred and raised in the belief that his only existence in life is to be sacrificed to his father’s god. Protected by his bodyguard, Azima, and forced to remain celibate so he won’t go to his sacrifice sullied, he spends most of his time playing around and generally being spoiled - until he and Azima rescue a stranger in the desert.
On Earth, Alejandro is desperate to find Ciaran again, even though everyone thinks he’s insane to think Ciaran is even still alive - everyone except his best friend, Brandon. Brought together with a witch named Shoshanna Rose and a psychic named Nabila, Alejandro and Brandon must figure out where Ciaran is and how to get him back.Splinters (complete but unedited; edited version will be on Smashwords; urban fantasy): War is on the horizon between the Fae and the ruling humans, but all Solan Yorke wants to do is get through his last year of school without anyone finding out he’s not human.
Winter King (technically a novella; will be more set in this world; urban fantasy): When his boss goes missing, Nikhil Chakravarthy will do anything to find him, even if that means getting tangled up with a mysterious runaway named Jess.
The Fifth God (current WIP; fantasy):
A thousand years ago, a group of Elementalists split a warring nation in two, separating magical Mihavar from science-minded Avernon with the great river Calanaia. The two countries continued to grow apart from one another but while Mihavar became prosperous, Avernon became overcrowded and jealous.
A thousand years later, a priest of the fire god Firenze finds a newborn baby on the steps of the temple. Named Daimeric di Firenze, the baby is raised in the temple until, at the age of ten, he tests for magic in all four elements. The first Elementalist in 500 years, he is sent to be trained at the Academy of Mages in Avran Avar, where he is watched closely by the ruling Council of Mages.
When Daimeric graduates at 18, he expects to be sent to the front lines to help guard against attack from Avernon. Instead, the Council assigns him four new students to mentor, in hopes of teaching him self-control and respect for other people, even those weaker than him.
These students - tough, rough-and-tumble Niamh; mischief-maker Luca, second son of a king; thoughtful, sweet-tempered Lore; and sensitive, loyal Korivenya - are forced not only to adjust to their new lives and each other, but also must earn Daimeric’s respect - and in doing so may save both countries from another war.Short Stories
Blood Bond (sequel to Blood Claim; urban fantasy): Still partners whether they want to be or not, Kellan and Valentine must put aside their differences if they want to save Kellan from his own past.
Cold Seep (fantasy): Ocean-dweller Azhorai meets a sea witch.
Death Comes For The Hero (urban fantasy, supernatural; possible trigger warning for suicide): Depression, angels, and the love of friends.
Fire Dance (urban fantasy); Sebastian ‘Bash’ Uyende is given the chance to travel to another world to complete an anthropology project. While there he discovers jealousy can run deep, even between brothers.
Hard Words (urban fantasy): Betrayal hurts the most when you’ve finally started to trust someone.
Junk (urban fantasy): When Evarin Kim picks up an old lock from the local junk table, he does it on a whim. Putting his old high school combination number into it dumps a green-eyed, lion-tailed stranger into his kitchen and sends them both on the run from what the stranger claims are angels.
The Problem With Werewolves (prequel to Sand Wolf; urban fantasy): Is that they’re possessive, cranky, and have a tendency to make Yoah’s life difficult.
Stormchaser (urban fantasy): Picking up a Storm Lord’s mask sends Maverick on the wildest tornado chase of his life - and reveals a few things about his partner that he could never have expected.
Blog: Total Word Domination
Title: The Long Walk
Author: Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman)
Genre: Horror/dystopic fiction
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 1979
The Long Walk focuses on 16-year-old Ray Garraty, who lives in a dystopic world where the totalitarian United States…
I write (and read) genre fiction. Not only that, but I write queer genre fiction that generally involves at least one sex scene, even though it’s usually not that explicit. It’s what I enjoy writing, and I appear to have at least a few readers who enjoy…
I need certain supplies to write. I prefer writing on a desktop computer that has a keyboard and mouse, preferably both wireless, and the keyboard can’t be too flat. My program of choice is Microsoft Word and I get uncomfortable when I have to write in,…
How to GIMP Up A Digital Book Cover
Or at least how I do it, keeping in mind that I’m a writer, not a graphic designer.
Things you will…
