Gay – Page 10 – A. L. Lester

Interview: Iyana Jenna

Today Iyana Jenna is visiting the blog to talk about her new seasonal short story.

Welcome, Iyana! Why are you visiting today!

Yeah, I released my short story, Santa’s Reindeer, on October 7. It is a YA MM Christmas romance about a young Reindeer shapeshifter.

What started you writing?

I began writing because I didn’t find what I wanted to read. At that someone I asked about it told me, “So, why don’t you write the story? You know what you want, so go ahead.”

Where do you write?

I used to write on my way to the office on my cellphone. Due to the pandemic, I have to write anywhere at home. But still on my cellphone.

What do you like to read?

It depends on my mood. Sometimes I like action stories, sometimes espionage, other times something that can make cry my eyes out.

What are the three books you’d take to a desert island? Why would you choose them?

A Matter of Honour by Jeffrey Archer

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

Because of these books I started writing.

Writing is an intrinsically solo occupation. Do you belong to any groups or associations, either online or in the ‘real’ world? How does that work for you?

I happen to agree that writing is a solo occupation. I don’t belong to any writing groups because I believe that you will jinx it if you talk or tell someone else about your story before you finish writing it.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I have lots of cats, like, more than 10. Besides that I spend my time watching my favorite TV series. Some of them are Succession, Seal Team, SWAT, Titans, Roswell, etc.

Tell me a little bit about your most recent release. What gave you the idea for it? How long did it take to write? What did you enjoy about writing it? What did you hate?

It is a story about the youngest reindeer shapeshifter. But it’s a very short story so it didn’t take a long time to write it. It was written quite a long time ago so I kind of forget what inspired me. What I like about it is just that story is sweet and clean.

Santa’s Reindeer

Tyler gets left behind by the group. He makes a mistake of landing on earth when Santa is delivering a package. He is enticed by the sparkly stuff at a window. He has seen things like that when he was with Santa going places but never got a chance to watch closer. Now he does.

Excerpt

The night was getting dark and the snow was falling harder and thicker. Tyler tightened the thin blanket he’d snatched from a clothesline earlier this afternoon around his body. It didn’t help much. The best it could do was keep his dignity.

He looked around the town. It wasn’t as lively as several hours before. Not many people were still on the streets—which was completely understandable judging from the weather and cold temperature—and not for the first time Tyler regretted his own stupidity. He wanted to blame those sparkling lights coming from the stores and the streets’ Christmas decorations, but that wouldn’t be fair. Those lights had always been there every time he stopped by the town, which was only his second time this year. Yeah, what did you expect? He was just thirteen. The youngest Santa allowed a boy to come along was twelve.

Buy Santa’s Reindeer

Find Iyana

Facebook : Instagram : Twitter : Smashwords : Amazon : Blog

Thanks again, Ally!

Am Reading

This week, a climate-driven dystopia by Premee Mohamed, a spooky gay romance by Isabelle Adler and a murder mystery with a background gay romance by C. S. Poe.

The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed

Wonderful novella set in a world ravaged by climate breakdown. Millions have died. Those remaining scrape out an existence in the remaining cities, spinning fibre out of reclaimed plastic bags, getting their protein from eggs twice a week, scavenging through what once was in the Back Then, about eighty years ago, as far as I could work out. A percentage of people are infected with Cad, a sort of symbiote that can manipulate its host in a limited sort of way…through fear or excessive caution to improve survival. Our hero is Reid, a young woman who has been contacted by one of the domes, centres where knowledge and tech is supposed to have survived. She’s offered a place at the University. But it’s days travel away. And no-one ever comes back.

I’ve read Premee Mohamed’s Apple Tree Throne and loved both her writing and storytelling. Similarly this…it’s delicate and thoughtful and the worldbuilding and attention to detail is beautiful. Reid’s world is completely believable. The shadow of ours hangs over it–its a howl against what we’ve already done to our descendants as well as a fantastic story. It’s a beautiful dystopia, with hope. Recommend.

The House on Druid Lake by Isabelle Adler

This is kind of a cosy mystery and also a Halloween story, which I find counter-intuitive but turns out not to be at all. Oliver’s a bit of a mess–his last relationship was abusive and he’s moved from Florida to Baltimore for a new job and a fresh start. He moves into a flat in an interesting old house, sight unseen except for the photos in the listing on the internet. The very attractive landlord is a bit odd as are the rest of the tenants. It was such a set-up…creaky old house, mysterious tenants…I loved it and immediately began working out what particular kind of entity each person was. The house turns out to be the target of an unscrupulous developer and Oliver and his new landlord have to outwit them. Nym, the landlord, has his own secrets and hang-ups and I found their relationship development satisfying and well-rounded. There are some pleasingly inexplicable little bits…I don’t like my magic systems to be spoon-fed to me and they were little loose threads independent of the main story that gave me things to ponder on once I’d finished. It’s a very happy book and I recommend it. Also, I love the cover!

Madison Square Murders by C. S. Poe

This is the opener of a new series by C. S. Poe. Everett is a desperately unhappy cold case detective who’s marriage is on the rocks, in part because a traumatic brain injury means he has memory issues. He can’t remember small things–he has to write everything down. Big things, he can’t forget.

A body found in the roots of a tree in the eponymous Madison Square Park begins a professional partnership with facial reconstruction artist Ira that soon turns into something more. Ira makes his interest in Everett clear, not realising he’s married. Both the emotional plot and the murder plot are complex and very well drawn. I love Poe’s stories and the way her characters often have disabilities they are living with as best they can. Disabled people live fulfilling lives centred around things other than dealing with their disability; and her writing embraces this. I’m looking forward to the next in the Memento Mori series.

Elizabeth Noble: The Vampire Guard

Let’s welcome Elizabeth Noble to the blog today with the age-old truth ‘Vampires are cool!’ She’s here to talk about The Vampire Guard series and its myth and background.

The Vampire Guard Book 1 -- Codename Jackrabbit by Elizabeth Noble

Thank you, A. L. Lester, for having me in Lester Tower today! (You are most welcome, any time!)

Vampires are cool. And they make awesome spies!

Since vampires live very long lives, that offers many avenues of character exploration. That’s my favorite thing about vampires. The characters have accumulated different skills over the decades and that really broadens what sort of story can be told.

Since, in this world, the vampires heal extremely quickly they’re almost super-hero like. They’re capable of surviving where a human might be killed. Then there’s the fact of their superior hearing, speed and strength.

The Vampire Guard is a spin-off from a paranormal romance/urban fantasy series, The Sleepless City, I wrote with Anne Barwell. As we developed our series we wanted our vampires, and werewolves, to be different.

The Vampire Guard Book 1 -- Quarry -- by Elizabeth Noble

These vampires don’t hunt humans and all vampires begin life as a human so as a group it’s in their best interest to preserve humans. One purpose of The Vampire Guard is to protect humanity and those who can’t protect themselves. While some of the characters are centuries old, they’ve adapted to changing times, some are proud of that ability! A poor farmer from the 1700s becomes a mercenary, musician then a detective with a degree in law. A boy born to nobility lives a life as a pirate, fur trapper then art thief! Another was a rabbi and Nazi resistance fighter, and yet another a humble seamstress turned international diplomate and spy. The list goes on! The Vampire Guard is multi-cultural and international and each character’s name and attitude matches their culture and time of origin.

Since these are espionage/thriller stories, The Vampire Guard employs high-tech tools during their missions. The characters use a combination of natural vampire (and werewolf) enhancements and technology to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. They don’t rely solely on their speed and acute hearing, however. At their disposal is cutting edge technology such as special holograph equipment allowing them to ‘see’ another vampire on camera. The Vampire Guard motto is Where legend and myth meet science and technology. Each book demonstrates that motto in different and exciting ways.

The Vampire Guard isn’t all vampires. Humans and werewolves have joined their ranks. A requirement for recruitment (you don’t join, you’re invited) is all the vampires are soulbonded. Since they can soulbond with humans and werewolves the skill set of the organization is tripled! This soulbonding makes each pair more than the sum of their parts and gives them powerful advantages as field operatives. It gives them abilities and attributes they might not otherwise have access to, such as empathically sensing their partner, or being impervious to vampire mind-control known as thrall.

In general, The Vampire Guard isn’t a romance, though there are couples, all established. The focus of the series is on a brotherhood of found family, friendships, and how four men come together and mesh as a team despite past histories, personal conflicts, and differing ideologies. Each member has unique skills: hacker, scientist, thief, soldier. They’re a well-oiled, snarky, and sometimes, deadly group of protectors and you’d better hope they never come for you!

Welcome to The Vampire Guard, where legend and myth meet science and technology...

Vampires and werewolves live long lives. The Sleepless City saga might have ended but the story continues…

Vampires make the best spies. Throw a smart-mouthed werewolf in with three vampires, mix well, and The Vampire Guard’s newest team is bound to become one of their greatest assets. Super spies with a full range of skills. Warrior, hacker, thief, and scientist. They get in, do the job and get out before the bad guys ever know what hit them.

They employ a combination of supernatural powers and cutting-edge technology to hunt down terrorists, thieves, biological weapons… and sometimes even their fellow vampires and werewolves. An eclectic organization comprised of individuals with diverse personalities, backgrounds, and abilities, this guard has bite—and they’re not afraid to use it.

Codename Jackrabbit (Book #1) – Quarry (Book #2) – The Series

British Accents now and then

One of the things I love about working with Callum Hale on my audiobooks is his ability to throw himself into pretty much any British accent and bring the character to life. To my British ear each of the people I’ve created sound exactly as I’ve envisaged them as he brings them off the page.

I asked him to make Rob, from Inheritance of Shadows ‘less ooh-arr’ and he toned the accent down so to me at least, Rob doesn’t sound so much like a heavy-handed son of the Somerset soil. And I wanted Will Grant in the 1920s London Trilogy to sound more like Lord Peter Wimsey. Callum obliged, perfectly. (These are my two favourite of all my characters, ever, incidentally).

The question I’m always asking myself about my writing though, is how right can I get it? I want the history in my books to be accurate, unless I’m deliberately twisting the universe out of true with magic. I think this is the same question historians have to ask themselves about looking at anything in the past. We are both looking at things through our own rose-tinted spectacles, coloured with our own experiences and social expectations. My characters in these books grew up in Victorian England. What did they really think about the Empire? What did they talk about in the pub? What did they really sound like? How did they really smell? We’re fudging it, the whole lot. Historians and archaeologists because of lack of data. And writers because of lack of data and because we don’t want our main characters to be unsympathetic to modern audiences.

Anyway…during one or other of my late-night sessions randomly browsing the web, I came across this programme about Edwardian accents. A regional English language specialist in Germany during the First World War, a real-life Professor Higgins, suddenly realised he had a huge pool of untapped research material in the German army’s British prisoners of war. In this documentary you can actually listen to their voices.

I was very interested in how the modern specialists in the programme say the regional accents of the past are broader in the recordings than they are now. It’s as if the rising tide of London-speak has swept the broad vowels of the regional accents back from the centre of the country, into the more remote west of England. So although to me, Rob sounds about right, a farm labourer from Somerset who’s self-educated and likes to read, to his contemporaries he’d probably have sounded out of place. You can listen to Callum’s reading of him here, in the first chapter of Inheritance of Shadows.

I think, listening to those long-ago voices in the programme, it’s important to remember these men were prisoners. That’s one of the filters we mustn’t discard. Were they doing this work in the language lab out of the kindness of their hearts? Because they were bored and wanted an occupation? Because they were threatened in to it? Because they were offered extra rations or privileges? Are these their actual accents? Or are they performative, a joke on the professor? They’re immensely touching, whatever their origin and I hope you enjoy it.

You can buy the 1920s London audiobooks at Authors Direct.

Lost in Time, Shadows on the Border, The Hunted and the Hind by A. L. Lester. Narrated by Callum Hale.

#AmReading

This week, two gay romances, one fantasy, one contemporary, and a contemporary fantasy story with roots set deep in English myth.

Seducing the Sorcerer by Lee Welch

Cover, Seducing the Sorcerer, Lee Welch.

There’s a magic horse that eats eiderdowns. That’s all you should need to know in order to one-click this book. Go and get it now. Immediately.

Other than that…it’s just as beautifully written as Lee Welch’s previous books. The characters are complex and well drawn–Fenn, who’s POV we follow–is an older character in his mid-forties and has fallen on hard times. He’s at the end of his rope when he gets swindled by a farmer he does some work for and is paid with a sackcloth horse. After that his life gets extremely weird.

I loved this whole premise. Fenn is just such a good character. He’s likeable, he’s realistic in that he tries to do the right thing and doesn’t always quite manage it. He makes assumptions and he acts on the spur of the moment and he is tired of fighting for things. He’s also seriously freaked out by magic. The world-building is wonderful–the magic system is there in the background and we pick it up as we go along rather than it being spoon-fed to us. This is my bag, as you are probably aware. The slow-burn romance between Fenn and Morgrim the sorcerer is very well paced and there are political machinations going on behind the scenes that gradually become clear to both the reader and Fenn. I loved their relationship dynamic. Hard recommend!

The Salisbury Key by Harper Fox (audio)

Cover, audiobook, Harper Fox, The Salisbury Key

There’s a lot of pain in this story. Warnings for suicide, grief and the trauma that falls out from them. It’s a long time since I read it and because the audio is much slower than I read myself, I think the grief had much more impact on me. Dan is devastated when his older partner kills himself, and sets himself to find out why through the haze of emotion and guilt he’s surrounded by. He meets a young soldier, Rain, who he has an instant connection with and together they open a can of worms containing biological weapons and evil. It’s a bit of an odd mixture with the archaeology thread, but it works really well and it’s a favourite of mine. The narration is perfect. I loved Rain’s voice in particular. Recommend.

The Green Man’s Heir by Juliet E. McKenna

I came across this via a twitter rec and it’s glorious. The MC is the son of a dryad and a human. He can see supernatural creatures but is not one himself…dryad’s sons are long lived and heal easily, but only their daughters are actual dryads. Our hero, Dan, is an itinerant carpenter, vaguely searching for other men like him–he wants to learn how they cope with living in a modern age of computer ID and registration when they don’t age as swiftly as humans. He has dreams that he interprets as messages from the Green Man, guiding him here and there across the country. In Derbyshire, he stumbles onto a murder that turns out to have a supernatural element and becomes involved with a local estate that has a dragon problem. This is a first in series and I’m about to begin the second. It’s lovely writing…rooted in the countryside and in English myth with likeable, rich characters that kept me turning the pages. Highly recommend.

That’s it for this week!