#TheWeekThatWas

If you follow me on social media, you might have noticed that I’ve been quieter than usual over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been a bit poorly with lots of seizures, the kids have required back-to-school organising, Mr AL has been a bit peaked and so has my Mama.

I’m scheduling this post in advance on the Saturday before you’ll read it, because as of Monday, Mr AL and I will hopefully have left the kids and the zoo with our brilliant carer and run away together for a whole five nights break. We’ve picked a pub on the coast in Devon which has a HUGE terrace overlooking the sea, my thinking being that we can sit out there for meals even if it’s raining and avoid other people.

We’ve already had one close-contact covid scare with a child on Littlest’s school bus testing positive at the beginning of last week. Littlest has had a proper PCR, which hasn’t yet come back–good news as apparently they prioritise contacting positive cases–and we are all getting negative lateral flow tests daily. No symptoms at all, so big yay! I can only hope the other families are doing the same thing. A school of clinically vulnerable kids is not the place to muck about with this sort of thing. Today is not the day and I am not the person, as they say.

Talking Child has had a rubbish time nearly every single day this past week with identity-based harassment kicking off at breaktimes. We’d really hoped it would be old news this term, but apparently not. School are on it, but it’s like whack-a-mole, the minute one gets the mandatory in-school exclusion another one pops us. TC is coping very well, but it’s really unpleasant to have to deal with on a day to day basis and it’s a big mental health drain.

All in all, here at The Towers we’re a bit flat. I’ve been sticking rigidly to my to-do list in order to try and keep some sort of routine going, because I feel as if once I start to let one or two things slide, the whole lot will go. I’m really hoping that by the time this post is published you’ll have seen some cheery pics on my various social media feeds and I’ll be able to write a brighter post telling you all about the lovely things we got up to while we were away!

Am Reading

This week, two gay audio romances, and two linked stories by K. L. Noone. I cannot recommend any of these books enough!

Love is a Stranger by John Wiltshire (audio)

Entirely new-to-me series that I have decided I need to carry on with! A couple of special ops-type main characters, one of whom has married into the royal family for reasons that will be spoilers. There’s lots of repressed ‘we are only fucking, we don’t care about each other’ type denial, which I liked a lot although I wanted to shout at them. There’s lots of plot and physical action and travelling round the scenic British countryside whilst they work out what’s going on and what they are to each other. And there’s a lot of acorns planted that are clearly going to grow into future books. Recommend.

Spectred Isle, The Green Men, KJ Charles audio.

Nineteen-twenties angst is my catnip as you will know by now if you read these recs regularly. Everyone is still traumatised by the war and in this case, that includes some of them having tentacles as a side-plot. I love this book–the green man thread resonates really heavily with my slightly new-age gardening-self. I was thrown initially because Saul has a much lighter voice than I expected and sounds younger than I had envisaged. However once I’d got used to him, I really enjoyed the narration. The production is very good, seamless. This is a treat, whether you’re already a KJ Charles fan or new to her books.

Sorceress by K. L. Noone

Short, sweet, straight, fantasy romance between Lily, single-parent sorceress and Will the allegedly dissolute older brother of a young king who is dying from magic. Clever, funny, heart-warming, a really lovely read.

Magician by K. L. Noone

Gareth is the prince of a tiny, poor, mountain kingdom that needs magical help. Lorre is a powerful, three hundred year old, very emotionally fucked up magician. Gareth tracks Lorre down and asks him for help. Lorre says yes, largely because he’s bored I think. They fall in love. They sort out everyone’s problems and become grown up, mature human beings. They accidentally create magical sex diamonds. The king, Gareth’s brother, is a stress-baker. Gareth is the ultimate Cinnamon Roll. You should really read this book.

That’s the lot for this week!

JP Kenwood: Locks and Keys

JP Kenwood is here today to talk about world building and the significance of locks and keys in their action-packed, politics-rich Dominus series. I do need to tag this post as #NSFW and give a content warning for mild #BDSM though!

World building is a huge part of penning any story, but it’s especially critical in historical fiction. I find it super useful to incorporate a few everyday items in my historical fiction—objects that truly mattered to the people of that time period. Ubiquitous objects that help readers connect with the mysterious past. I’ve used many objects as plot points and even as ‘prop characters’ in my stories. For me, these items tend to fall into the category of jewelry, but there are other objects equally if not more important to the plot, such as scrolls, mirrors, and knives.

An important recurring prop in my series, Dominus, is the simple household key. Romans are said to be the first ancient western culture to invent what most of us think of as a key – a small and usually metal implement with a handle and teeth. When the correct key is placed in a lock and turned, the key’s teeth move the pins and unlock the bolt.

Max waited for Varius to leave before he pulled a ring of keys from his pouch and unlocked the heavy wooden door. Allerix imagined Max must have had a key for nearly every lock at the villa.

“This is Dom’s playroom. You’ll be spending quite a bit of time in here.”

Dominus: Dominus Book 1

Keys are also powerful symbols, of course. In the abstract, a key can represent penetrative sex or even warfare. In the more physical sense, a key represents wealth, since its existence implies the carrier has something of value that requires protection. Gold coins in a hinged box. Sex toys in a cupboard. A collection of exotic weapons in a cabinet.

Like an animal drawn by some irresistible but invisible pheromone, Alle’s eyes converged on a large wooden cabinet against the far wall. “That cupboard contains my other toy collection.” Gaius retrieved a key from a drawer in his desk. Running his hand up and down Alle’s back, he boasted, “I’ve been acquiring foreign weapons since I was old enough to swing a sword. Their variety of designs and embellishments has long fascinated me.”

Games of Rome: Dominus Book 2

Keys to chastity devices blatantly symbolize control of one person over another. Cock cages feature prominently in my Dominus saga.

Gaius manipulated the device until Allerix’s balls were collared snug by the heavy silver ring. With a sharp click, the two halves of the lion-headed metal cylinder snapped together to encase Alle’s timid cock. Another softer click and Gaius had locked the contraption in place. Gaius held up a key dangling from a silver chain like a pendant and clasped the necklace around his neck. “I’ll keep your freedom beside my heart all night. Comfortable?”

Blood Before Wine: Dominus Book 3

A key to a door is an even more powerful symbol, especially in ancient Rome. Doors are by their nature emblems of transition: physical, spiritual, and intellectual. The Romans had a god of doors and gateways called Janus. We’ve inherited the calendar term, January, from the idea of Janus and his cult of transitions. Interestingly enough, Roman door locks could only be locked and opened with a key from the outside. A room with a door that could be locked turned that room into a glorified storage space for inanimate or living valuables. A key to an apartment or the front door of a house could also signify status and even freedom:

After purchasing an assortment of delicious cheeses, sausages, bread, and pickled eggs at the upscale snack bar, the three walked back to the shoe shop and climbed the wooden stairs to Theo’s flat two floors above. He opened the lock with his key and pushed open the creaky door; the red façade of a brick building across the street dominated the view through a large window in the opposite wall. His simple but tidy living quarters consisted of two rooms: a larger gathering lounge with a table, chairs, lamp stands, and two cupboards, while off to the right was a smaller bedroom separated from the main room by white curtains suspended from hooks at the top of the door frame.

Theo’s home.

The place where he could do whatever he wished as long as he didn’t break any laws. A cozy, private space where Theodorus decided who entered and who didn’t.

A freedman’s freedom.

Blood Before Wine: Dominus Book 3

In addition to the modern notion of a physical key that opens a stationary lock, Romans also invented padlocks. Padlocks attached to chains or hooks or door handles were used to keep an item in place. Padlocks prevent theft, but they can also imply punishment or imprisonment.

The library was located off a grand corridor on the western side of the estate. It was a large square room with enormous windows and cupboards stuffed with correspondence, accounts, and legal records. The library had been Luc’s pride and joy, his oasis from the political tempests of the courts. And it was the perfect private place for a quick fuck over a table. Gaius knew every piece of furniture in that damn room.

When they arrived, they found the door handles secured by a thick chain and a sturdy iron lock. The entrance resembled that of a prison rather than a sanctuary for study or secret afternoon trysts.

Games of Rome: Dominus Book 2

Keys are one object that I’ve used in every book of the Dominus series. As both relatable and symbolic, keys play an important role in the story. In final Book 4 of Dominus, a lock and its key will once again have a pivotal role!

About the series

Dominus is an alternate history series that features an ensemble of memorable characters—masters and slaves, senators and soldiers, lawyers and freedmen, wives and whores—who live, laugh, and lust during the Golden Age of imperial Rome. Dominus is an m/m alternative history fantasy series set in ancient Rome during the reign of the Emperor Trajan (AD 98-117). What if Trajan had been the custodian of two boys instead of only one? What if Hadrian had been privy to secrets that could damage the political authority of his older and more successful fellow imperial ward, Gaius Fabius? What if a Roman general had fallen in love with his captive Dacian slave? Could a powerful Roman aristocrat of noble ancestry have been deliberately erased from history?

We have released the audiobooks of Dominus (Book 1), Games of Rome (Dominus Book 2), and Blood Before Wine (Dominus Book 3). If you enjoyed the books, you will adore the audiobooks. For much more information about the characters in the Dominus series, check out my author blog.

Meet JP Kenwood

Writer of plot-packed mm stories. My Dominus series, an often dark and sexy tale, focuses on master/slave power dynamics, the vicissitudes of fate, and the fragility of historical memory. My passions are ancient Rome, laughter, and love.

My current project is the 4-book, m/m historical fantasy saga, Dominus, set in imperial Rome. Book 1 (Dominus; 2014), Book 2 (Games of Rome; 2015), and Book 3 (Blood Before Wine; 2019) are currently available. Games of Rome received 2nd Place in the 2016 Rainbow Awards for Gay Historical. Blood Before Wine received an Honorable Mention for Gay Historical in the 2019 Rainbow Awards. Final Book 4 of the Dominus saga will be released soon.

My social media links

Skye Kilaen: Queer M/F Romance

Today, Skye Kilaen is visiting to talk about queer m/f romances! Please give her a warm welcome!

I’m so excited to be here today talking about one of my favorite topics, queer M/F romances!

As a queer reader, LGBTQIA+ romances have a special place in my heart. When I first started reading romance by checking out books from my local library, I could easily find books that paired two allo cis men, and somewhat less easily books that paired two allo cis women. I was delighted when I started to discover romances beyond those two categories. Trans characters! Ace and aro characters! And also books that reflected my own experience being a bi/pan woman who has often dated men: M/F romances where one or both characters are queer.

(I’ve tried hard to start mixing it up by sometimes calling this category queer F/M. After all, why should the M be first all the time? But unfortunately my brain sees “F/M” and immediately thinks “radio.”)

Without further ado, here are four of my favorite queer M/F romances, and four that are on my radar.

Something Like Love is a contemporary by Black romance powerhouse Christina C. Jones, who is one of the funniest romance writers around in my opinion. Both leads are bi and I love them so much.

“Eddie is arrogant, quite vain and slick at the mouth – or simply confident, discerning, and unafraid to speak his mind, if you ask him. Astrid is annoyingly perky, unpolished, and a little delusional about Eddie’s attraction to her – or, according to her, energetic, authentic, and absolutely spot on about the driving factor of a certain local tattoo artist’s ‘hatred’ of her.

Undeniable attraction.

They may think they’re opposite, but have more in common than they think.”

Jules Kelley’s Edge of the Woods is a contemporary paranormal with a strong romance subplot that this romance reader found extremely satisfying. Haley, the female MC, is bi.

“Haley Fern has been the alpha of her local werewolf pack for less than a year when their law enforcement liaison retires, and Leland Sommers, a man who knows nothing about werewolves or their world, is hired in his place. What could be an awkward situation turns complicated when the man shows up his first day on the job with an injured teenage boy he found on the road–a boy Haley knows has just been bitten.”

Disclosure: Kelley is an online friend, who became a friend because I loved their writing so much that I reached out to say hi.

Caroline’s Heart by Austin Chant is a historical paranormal/fantasy romance that pairs a grieving witch and a gentle cowboy. Both are trans and bi. The blurb for this book centers Cecily, but Roy’s the emotional heart (no pun intended) of the story, the one who coaxes Cecily alive and holds her up when she needs it. Love this book.

“Cecily lost her soulmate years ago, leaving her with nothing but the clockwork heart that once beat in Caroline’s chest. They say it’s impossible to bring back the dead, yet Cecily’s resurrection spell is nearly complete and grows more powerful by the day.

But when a cowboy she barely knows is fatally injured, the only way to save him is by sacrificing an essential piece of the resurrection spell—and all possibility of seeing her lover again.”

Help Wanted by J. Emery is a gender and sexuality questioning F/M romance. I love this little novella about students at a magical college.

“Em is confused about a lot of things: who she is, what she wants, how she’s going to pass Alchemy when she’s awful at it. The one thing she’s not confused about is how much she wants to buy her best friend (and college roommate) the best birthday present ever. Luckily the local magic supply shop is hiring.

Her plan to get a job there would be working perfectly if not for her coworker Phineas who is in turns aggravating and endearingly awkward. She’s not sure if she wants to date him or wants to be him. The more time they spend together the more she thinks it may be both.”

Disclosure: Emery is an online friend, who became a friend after I volunteered to beta read for them because I enjoyed their published work so much.

Erin Kinsella’s Heart and Seoul stars a demisexual, panromantic heroine paired with a bisexual hero. Tessa’s an author who flies to Seoul, South Korea where her book is being adapted to film. Eun Gi, a K-pop superstar, has been cast as the lead actor. So of course they end up in a marriage of convenience. What else could possibly happen? 🙂

I was lucky enough to beta read the second book in this series, which isn’t out yet, and I fell in love with the entire cast. So I’m excited to go back to this first book and find out more about how Tessa and Eun Gi got together.

Disclosure: Kinsella is an online friend, who became a friend because I had such a great time beta reading her work.

Penny Aimes has just released For The Love of April French, a contemporary BDSM romance. The title character is a trans woman. This is waiting for me on my e-reader once I get out from under this pile of library books, and I’m so excited!

“April French doesn’t do relationships and she never asks for more. A long-standing regular at kink club Frankie’s, she’s kind of seen it all. As a trans woman, she’s used to being the scenic rest stop for others on their way to a happily-ever-after. She knows how desire works, and she keeps hers carefully boxed up to take out on weekends only. After all, you can’t be let down if you never ask.

Then Dennis Martin walks into Frankie’s.”

May Peterson’s The Calyx Charm is the third in her series The Sacred Dark. From the sample I’ve read, I suspect it works as a standalone if you’re okay with jumping right in to the lush magical worldbuilding (which is her signature!) and hanging on for the ride.

“Violetta Benedetti knows how to hide things. She spent years concealing herself behind the persona her father expected of her. Now she hides in the dark corners of Vermagna’s underworld, lying low to keep her father from using her magic in his unending quest for power.

But her biggest secret is her love for her best friend, who only knew her as Mercurio Benedetti, not the woman she is today. Now he’s dead, and she’ll never be able to tell him the truth.”

Except that her best friend Tibario DID die… and then got better. So that creates some possibilities. 🙂

The cover for Rosalie Jardin’s Prescription for a Lonely Heart cracks me up in such a good way. His expression is “Heyyyyy!” and hers is so very “I’m not so sure about all this…” That’s because in high school, nerdy Kay and athlete Adrian made a pact that if they were both still single at thirty, they’d get married. Kay, who is demisexual, thought it was a joke.

But now they’re both twenty-eight and still single, and Adrian doesn’t see why they should wait.

Tell me Anything by Skye Kilaen

Content warnings

Isabel meets Derek at exactly the wrong time… or is it exactly right?

Can Isabel return this year for a refund? Because it sucks. Her editing business would be paying her bills just fine… if her ex-boyfriend wasn’t blackmailing her. Of course, if her conservative family wouldn’t disown her for being bisexual, her ex couldn’t blackmail her in the first place. Sadly, she hasn’t invented time travel to un-make the mistake that created this mess.

Derek has a good life. Mostly. He’s an out bisexual man with a successful business and a loving queer found family. But he’s almost forty, living alone is getting stale, and yet dating seems pointless since nobody’s ever found him exciting enough to build a life with. Given he’s now doing zero-creativity craft kits to pass the time, he suspects they’re right. Maybe he should get a dog.

Isabel isn’t holding auditions for a rescuer, and she wouldn’t have expected Derek, a gorgeous, gentle man with his own history of family rejection, to fill the role. But Derek’s “boring” life is the calm harbor Isabel needs, and her affection helps Derek see himself in a new light. Their tentative connection might become the happily ever after they both deserve—if they can hold onto it through the fallout from Isabel’s recent romantic disaster.

Meet Skye

Skye Kilaen writes queer romance, both contemporary and science fiction, that’s sometimes about polyamorous relationships. Even her contemporaries are usually at least a bit geeky. After all, she does some of her writing in her local comic book shop.

Skye started writing fiction in elementary school on a Smith Corona electric typewriter because that’s all people had back in the early 1980s. She didn’t realize she wanted to read and write romance until much later, when it finally dawned on her that she adored X-Men comics for the soap opera aspect as much as for the superpowers.

She’s bi/pan and she currently lives in Austin, Texas because of all the libraries and breakfast tacos.

Website & Newsletter Signup : Twitter : Goodreads

The Hunted & the Hind: Editing sometimes means losing the good bits

Another post about The Hunted and and Hind, including a big deleted scene this week. I have just finalised the audiobook with Callum and so it will be going up to Findaway Voices in the next week or two and appearing at all your favourite online retailers soon after that.

Audiobook cover, The Hunted and the Hind

Hunted is the third in my 1920s London trilogy that began with Lost in Time. They are historical books with a paranormal twist and Hunted is the one with the most paranormal shenanigans and therefore, for me, the most difficult to write. Eventually it came in at just over forty thousand words, edited down from just over fifty.

It was so, so painful to cut out all those words I’d hammered out in the early mornings last summer and I really felt like I’d wasted my time. I’d got sucked down a rabbit-hole of too much fantasy world—in all my other books, not just the 1920s ones, the paranormal world is glimpsed from this one and is supposed to be a tip-of-the-iceberg type arrangement where neither characters nor readers can see all of it. But at the end of Shadows on the Border, poor Sergeant Will Grant got sucked through the border (or maybe he jumped through?) after Fenn, who was returning home. I knew I wanted them to be together, but I also felt it was a cop-out to just have them pop back into 1920s London from Fenn’s world at the beginning of the next book as if they’d hidden in a cupboard for a while and then re-emerged.

I ended up writing quite a bit of what turned into backstory or maybe an alternate timeline set in Fenn’s world. A few of the scenes have ended up in the finished book, but a lot of them were cut—this one for example and the one below. And the not-popping-out-of-a-cupboard problem was solved by having them re-emerge from Fenn’s world in Egypt and having a two week journey back to England.

Luckily this has given me lots and lots of deleted scenes to share! The only thing I kept in the final book from this one is the lim-moss that provides the lighting. Here it is! And do keep an eye out for the audio book in the next few weeks if you are an audio type of person!

Deleted Scene

Will leaned his head back against the wall. It was lovely to be properly warm. He didn’t think he’d been warm in all of his body at once since they’d come through the Border. “I fell.” He stated the obvious. “I fell and I put my shoulder out. I, er. I rather lost track for a bit.”
Fenn was looking at him with that steady, slightly unnerving gaze. “Come, Will. Come and bathe.” He extended a hand and Will grasped it, grateful for the help getting up. Fenn was in some sort of loose robe affair, not quite dressing gown, not quite thobe. Will still wore the remnants of his slacks and shirt.
“Let me help you?” Fenn asked him.
“Yes. All right.” He could do with the help. Fenn stepped close and put his hands inside the padded coat, on his shoulders as he slid it off down Will’s arms. He laid it on the stone bench beside them. Then he started to unbutton Will’s shirt, fumbling a little with the tiny mother of pearl buttons. Will half-shut his eyes and enjoyed not having to think of anything. “That should probably be burned.” he commented as Fenn laid that aside too. “It all should, really. I’ve been wearing it for days”.
“It is certainly not in the cleanest of conditions.” There was a smile in Fenn’s voice as he put his hands on Will’s belt. “This next?”
“I can do it.” Will’s voice was not quite steady as he took over. There was something very comforting about letting Fenn look after him. Dangerous, his hind brain told him. Dangerous to get used to it.
“Very well.” Fenn waited for him to push his trousers down and step out of them and then started unbuttoning his combinations, gently easing them over his duff shoulder. “There. It hurts?”
“Not as much as it did.” He scrunched his face up. “I’m almost getting used to it, it’s been in and out so much.” He carefully pushed his underwear down to his ankles and stepped out, naked.
“Come.” Fenn took his elbow and guided him down some shallow steps in to the pool. The warm water lapping higher around him was an almost erotic pleasure. He sighed. The pool was about chest depth and large enough to comfortably float and splash about. There seemed to be a sunken stone bench around the edges. Fenn drew him to it and sat beside him. The light was coming up from underneath.
“What’s causing the light?” he asked, with idle curiosity.
“We call it lim-light. It’s a kind of moss. We use it everywhere – you just need a little piece of it and it spreads steadily. Very convenient.” Fenn laid his head back on the edge of the pool and sunk down a little further, shutting his eyes. “Graces, I missed this. Your people do not have good baths, Will Grant.”
He sounded so complacent that Will chuckled a little. He could feel the aches soaking out of him already. He splashed Fenn with a small wave that lapped over his face, making his silver eyelashes clump together as he laughed softly and opened his lids a little, directing his sleepy gaze at Will, eyes still protected by that inner eyelid. “It is true. You know it is true. Since, since the Romans! You have not had proper baths.”
Will snorted at that. “You aren’t allowed to read my mind in order to be smug at me.” He chided.
“It was on the surface. You were shouting.” Fenn shut his eyes again, glimmer of humour fading. “You did not ask me about Keren.”
“No.” Will was solemn now, too. “No. I didn’t. I just assumed. When you didn’t come back. Is he still alive?”
“No. No, he is not. He tried to escape when he realised that I could not come back and the carnas got him by the shimmer, out at the Eastern Point, where I first went through. Malach said it was quick.” He passed a hand over his lashes, rubbing dampness off them. “I loathe Malach. I always have. They are always so reasonable.” He sat up and pushed off with his feet, moving to the other side of the pool, unable to stay still. “I understand their position. Of course I do. But to use my sibling to force me in to something I would have done regardless.” He put his hands over his face. “I am at a loss, Will.”
Will stood too and went over to him, waist deep in the warm water. What could he say? There was nothing to say to a man who’s brother, little more than a child, had been killed by those things. And for no reason. Just another senseless death. He found that he had said it aloud. “A senseless death.” He put his hand on Fenn’s shoulder, a firm, comforting grip.
Fenn moved closer, resting his head on Will’s shoulder, his hand on Will’s neck to hold him close. Will brought his other arm around him and clasped him tightly, in silence. It was perfectly peaceful in the cavern, like this. No sound except the deep green lapping of the water and the steady breathing of two people who had lost more than either of them deserved. Fenn stepped back a little, opening up the space between them. “For all that you have done for me, Will Grant …” he raised his gaze from the surface of the pool and met Will’s as he stretched out a hand and very lightly touched Will’s wet shoulder. The water droplets glimmered with lim-light as he removed his hand. Will shut his eyes briefly at the intensity of the sensation. When he opened them again, Fenn was watching him. His nictating membrane was open in the dim light of the cavern and the beech green of his eyes was as startling as the first time Will had seen it. Neither of them moved. They were both breathing as if they had been running. “For all that you have done for me, Will … I am thankful.” His voice was lower than before.
He dropped his eyes to his fingers as he raised them out of the water again to Will’s shoulder, running them slowly down over his pectoral to his nipple. Will watched too, biting his lip and concentrating on keeping his breath steady. The long, elegant fingers circled around the little peak, pearled with water. “Fenn.” He said.
“Will.” Will could hear the hunger in his voice, hidden under a smile.