Tuesday, November 18, 2014

FAN FICTION ALERT!! - Before the Battle

So. I am re-reading one of my all time favorite fantasy series ever, Codex Alera. If you like fantasy and haven't read this series, READ IT. Like, seriously. Alas, it is not queer fantasy, but it is still wonderful. It starts with Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Anyway, even back in the day before read anything remotely queer, I remember shipping these two characters. And after the tenth or so re-read, I still ship them so I decided to write my imagined first kiss for them. This takes place right before the Canim regulars attach the Elinarch in Cursor's Fury.

THESE ARE NOT MY CHARACTERS AND THIS IS NOT MY UNIVERSE. EVERYTHING BELONGS TO JIM BUTCHER!!!

Max was the first to admit he wasn’t the most introspective of men. He liked his women and his drink and thought it was his right to complain about anything that wasn’t those two things. That’s why Schulz snuck up on him so badly. First, the fish had accidentally almost killed him. Then, Schulz’d felt so guilty about, the poor kid had been following Max around for weeks trying to make it up to him. Somewhere along the line, Max had stopped being annoyed and didn’t even realize it.

He hadn’t seen much of Schulz in the last few days, apart from giving orders and the such. Tavi, the crowbegotten captain, was making some utterly stupid but possibly brilliant plan to defeat the hoard of 50,000 Canim clamoring just on the other side of the Elinarch. He’d promoted Max to Tribune Auxiliarus and made Schulz centurion in his place.

Max should be worrying about what he needed to do to prepare for the coming battle, perhaps thinking a little about his impending death, or at least sharpening his sword. But all that Max’s crowbegotten mind could think of was tracking down Schulz before the battle began.

The mud squelched under his boots as he double timed it down the road towards his –Schulz’s- spear’s barracks with the pretense of checking they were ready. When he arrived all his former spearmates were formed up and ready to leave for their post.

“Attention!” Max heard Schulz bellow when he came into view. Almost as a single entity, the men stood straight and saluted.

“At ease, fish. Get to your post.” Max turned to Schulz. “I need to speak with you for a moment. You can meet your men there in a few minutes.”

Schulz nodded briefly. “Sir.” Turning back towards his men, he shouted, “You heard the Tribune. Get your crowbegotten asses to your post.”

Max was grinning ear to ear when Schulz turned back towards him.

“What did you need, sir?”

Max’s grin turned into a lazy smile. “I think attempted murder gives you the right to use my name when we’re alone.”

Schulz blushed enough that Max could see it even in the dimmed fury light of the abandoned barracks. “Max,” he said quietly.

He looked down at his feet. “I’m scared.”

Max’s heart seized in his chest at Schulz’s admission. He took a step forward, crowding into Schulz’s space. “Furies above, man. We’re all scared.” He reached out and put his hands on Schulz’s shoulders. “The important thing is to get out there and defend the man on either side of you. The Captain may be young but I’ve seen more of his hair brained schemes work than I care to admit. If anyone can get us through this night, it’s him.”

Schulz lifted his head and looked Max right in the eyes. It was like a punch to the solar plexus. Somehow, amidst the danger and the pranks and the terror, this boy – no this man – in front of him had come to mean everything to Max.

Max was not one for deep thoughts or denying himself so it was no surprise what he did next. He leaned forward even more, crowding Schulz against the barracks wall and kissed him.

Schulz started so badly, Max had to jump back to avoid getting his nose broken.

It was Max’s turn to stare at his shoes. He wasn’t really sure what to do next and had almost decided on leaving without saying anything when he heard Schulz’s voice.

It sounded confused and hopeful and slightly quivery as he asked, “Sir?”

Max snapped his head up. “It’s Max.”

Something must have come together in Schulz’s mind, because in the next second, he responded with, “Max, then,” before grabbing the edges of Max’s legion issue breastplate and spinning him until his back hit the wall with a resounding thump.

In the next moment, Schulz’s lips had found his in a punishing kiss that drove all thought from his brain. Heat washed through him, stronger than any earth-crafting he had ever experienced and somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Schulz was no earth-crafter.

His fingers scrabbled over armor and cloth in a desperate attempt to find skin. Schulz growled in the back of his throat and grabbed Max’s hands in one of his and forced them above their heads and against the wall. Max was the stronger man and could have easily broken the hold, but Furies did it boil his blood that Schulz was gone enough to try to control him.

Somewhere in the distance Max heard a signal being sounded. Slowly, and against his will, the heat faded from between as Schulz also registered the signal.

He had a smirk on his face. “I’ve wanted to do that since you walked into camp weeks ago.” He paused. “It was even better than I imagined.”

Max couldn’t help but smile. “It was pretty good.”

The ready signal sounded a second time.

Max sighed, “It’s time.”

Schulz shook himself and Max could see the guise of confident, unshakeable centurion come over him in the space of a breath.

He grabbed the back of Schulz’s head and pulled him in for one final punishing kiss. Before he turned to leave, he locked eyes with Schulz, “Find me after.”


Schulz nodded simply, knowing what he was trying to say but couldn’t. 

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Thanksgiving Giveaway Extravaganza!

Hello All My Followers!

The time of year in which I like to take a special moment to think about all the things I have to be thankful for is coming up just around the corner. One of the things that I am most thankful for is all the people who come by here and read all the stuff I post/write. So in order to show my thanks, I am going to have a GIVEAWAY (YAY!).

Here goes the prizes:

PRIZE NUMERO UNO
- 4 Temporary Literary Tattoos from Litograph (pictured below)
- 1 electronic copy of my upcoming holiday short story, The Bard and His Boyfriend
- 1 ficbit with characters tailored to their choice (you can pick gender, orientation, and a basic set up/location/occupation/etc). My ficbits are generally between 500 and 2000 words but could be longer if I am inspired.

PRIZE NUMERO DOS
- 4 Temporary Literary Tattoos from Litograph (pictured below)
- Your choice of an electronic copy of any November New Release from Less Than Three Press under $8.00
- 1 ficbit with characters tailored to their choice (you can pick gender, orientation, and a basic set up/location/occupation/etc). My ficbits are generally between 500 and 2000 words but could be longer if I am inspired.

2 RUNNERS UP
- 2 Temporary Literary Tattoos from Litograph (pictured below)
- 1 ficbit with characters tailored to their choice (you can pick gender, orientation, and a basic set up/location/occupation/etc). My ficbits are generally between 500 and 2000 words but could be longer if I am inspired.

The Literary Temporary Tattoos are from Litograph's "Longest Literary Temporary Tattoo Chain" Kickstarter. They did so well they decided to practically quadruple my reward package. The main prize winners will receive one of each and the runners up will receive a Treasure Island and Pride and Prejudice tattoo only.

Peter Pan
"Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."
Les Miserables
"Even the darkes night will end and the sun will rise."
Pride and Prejudice
"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading."

Treasure Island
"Dead men don't bite."

THE RULES
1. On Blogger, comment on this post for one entry.
2. On Tumblr, reblog this post for one entry and like this post for one entry.
3. This means you can enter up to THREE times.
4. Entries will close on Friday, November 28, 2014 at  8:00 P.M. EST.
5. I will use a random number generator to pick the winners. I will post them as soon as possible after the giveaway is closed BUT I will be visiting my family for the holidays and it might not be until later that evening or saturday. If I delay my posting, I will allow any entries made before I post, even if they are after the deadline.
6. Literary Temporary Tattoos will be mailed via snail mail so you must be willing to give me your address.
7. Ficbits will be posted on my blog and on tumblr before the end of the year. I can make a very basic eBook copy for you, if you want (no cover or special formatting - just a title page, copyrights, and the story).

I think that's all, folks. Thanks for being so awesome!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Boughs of Evergreen/Trevor Project Trailer

Hello All,
I know you must be shocked, with me posting something two days in a row! However, I am pretty excited about this so buckle your seat belts and prepare yourself. Our lovely editor, Deb McGowan, facilitated making a trailer that tells you a little about all the stories in Boughs of Evergreen: A Holiday Anthology AND lets you get to know the authors a bit and why they are supporting the Trevor project. All of Beaten Track's portion of the profits are going to the Trevor Project and many of the authors (including myself) are also donating their portion of the royalties.

This is your opportunity to get a great anthology filled with a super diverse range of holiday stories and characters while supporting a really awesome cause.

Check out the trailer below (it is kinda long, but totally worth it!)


Also, don't forget there is still time to enter our AWESOME giveaway. For more information see my previous post or click here.

You can also donate directly to the Trevor Project if you want to give more than what the profits/royalties from book sales will give. Click here for more informaiton on how to donate directly as well as more information about what the Trevor Project actually is.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Boughs of Evergreen Giveaway

If you've been reading the blog recently, you'll know that I am participating in a Holiday Anthology called Boughs of Evergreen. Much of the profits from this anthology will go to support the Trevor Project.

To get ready for it's release, we are holding a GIVEAWAY (those are my favorite). There will be three sets of prizes.

Grand Prize: 1 Digital Copy of the entire Boughs of Evergreen anthology
Runners Up: 10 different people will win a copy of a single story of their choice from the anthology (I suggest picking MY story, The Bard and His Boyfriend. Wink Wink.)
Second Runners Up: 10 different people will win an electronic copy of excerpts from many of the stories in the anthology.

This is a whole crap-ton of AWESOME prizes so you should definitely enter. Click here. The Rafflecopter entry is near the bottom of the page. The deadline to enter is 10:00 P.M. CST on Thursday, November 6, 2014 so get your clicky fingers over there right now!

If you don't trust in giveaways and just want to pre-order the anthology, that is a legitimate life choice as well. You can pre-order the whole anthology, here. OR, (soon, but not quite yet) you can pre-order your copy of just my story, The Bard and His Boyfriend: A Story of Holiday Homecomingshere.